John Pawson

In 2010 the Pawson office won the competition to oversee the transformation of the former Commonwealth Institute in London into a new permanent home for the Design Museum. The Grade 2* listed building, with its signature hyperbolic paraboloid roof structure, was designed by Robert Matthews, Johnson-Marshall & Partners and originally opened to the public in 1962. Driving the process of reclaiming this iconic example of post-war British Modernism as a contemporary cultural space has been the wish to preserve and enhance its inherent architectural qualities for future generations of Londoners and visitors to the city. The aim is a building that feels as though it has retuned itself, enabling people to experience what is already there in fresh ways. The new Design Museum is scheduled to open in 2015.

Photography
Gilbert McCarragher