Design Museum facts for kids
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The Design Museum in Kensington
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| Established | 1989 |
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| Location | 224–238 Kensington High Street, London, W8 6AG England |
| Public transit access |
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The Design Museum in Kensington, London, England, is a super cool place. It shows off all kinds of design! You can see amazing examples of products, industrial items, graphics, fashion, and even buildings. In 2018, the museum won a big prize called the European Museum of the Year Award. When you buy a ticket, your money helps the museum create new and exciting shows.
Contents
Discovering the Design Museum's Story
The Design Museum started in 1989. It was created by a man named Sir Terence Conran. He worked with Stephen Bayley to make it happen. Before this, they had a very popular exhibition space. It was called The Boilerhouse. This space was part of the famous Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A).
Its First Home: Shad Thames
The museum first opened in an old banana warehouse. This building was on the south bank of the River Thames in London. The warehouse was completely changed. It was made to look like a modern building from the 1930s. Many companies and designers helped pay for this transformation.
The Conran group designed the museum. It had two floors of exhibitions. There was also a special "Design Museum Tank" area by the river. A large sculpture called The Head of Invention was placed outside. It was made by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi.
Moving to Kensington
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In 2011, Sir Terence Conran gave £17.5 million. This money helped the museum move to a much bigger place. The new home used to be the Commonwealth Institute building. This building is from the 1960s and is very special. It had been empty for over ten years.
A team led by John Pawson designed the new museum space. The inside work was done by Willmott Dixon Interiors. The Design Museum opened in its new Kensington home on November 24, 2016. The new spot gave the museum three times more space!
It now has a special learning center. There is also a large auditorium with 202 seats. Plus, there's a gallery just for the museum's main collection. You can visit this part for free! The new building was even featured on a TV show.
The move brought the museum closer to other famous places. It joined the Royal College of Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Also nearby are the Science Museum, Natural History Museum, and Serpentine Gallery.
Over the years, the museum has had different leaders. Deyan Sudjic became director in 2006. In 2016, Alice Black was appointed co-director. Now, Tim Marlow is the director and chief executive.
Exploring the Museum's Galleries
The Design Museum has several cool areas to explore. Each floor offers something different.
Top Floor Wonders
The very top floor is under the museum's unique roof. Here, you'll find a permanent display. It's called "Designer Maker User." This area shows off important objects from the museum's collection. You can also find a restaurant and a members' lounge here. There's even a studio for artists and a space for events.
First Floor Learning and Resources
On the first floor, there's a special library. It's full of books about design and architecture. This library is a great place for students and researchers. It also has old papers about the museum's history. The Swarovski Foundation Centre for Learning is also here. It has a design studio, a workshop, and seminar rooms. The museum's offices are on this floor too.
Ground Floor and Exhibition Space
The ground floor has the biggest gallery. This is where the museum shows its temporary exhibitions. These shows change often, so there's always something new! You can enter this area from both Kensington High Street and Holland Park. The main entrance hall is also used for events. A large staircase connects all the floors. It gives you great views as you go up.
Lower Levels and Special Features
Below the ground floor, there's another large gallery. This one is called Gallery Two. It also hosts temporary exhibitions. These shows focus on architecture, fashion, furniture, and graphic design. The Bakala Auditorium is a theater with 202 seats. It's used for talks, seminars, and other events. The basement has storage for the collections. There are also spaces to prepare new exhibitions.
Design Awards and Recognitions
The Design Museum also runs an award program. It celebrates amazing designs. Brit Insurance used to sponsor these awards until 2011.
Designer of the Year Award
This award celebrates a single designer.
- 2003: Jony Ive
- 2004: Daniel Brown
- 2005: Hilary Cottam
- 2006: Jamie Hewlett
Design of the Year Award
This award looks at designs from the past year. Experts nominate up to five projects. These projects fit into different categories.
- From 2008 to 2014, there were seven categories: architecture, transport, graphics, interactive, product, furniture, and fashion.
- Since 2015, there have been six categories: architecture, fashion, graphics, digital, product, and transport.
Beazley became the exhibition sponsor in 2016.
Here are some of the winning designs:
- 2008: The 'One Laptop Per Child' project. It was designed by Yves Béhar.
- 2009: The Barack Obama "Hope" poster. It was designed by Shepard Fairey.
- 2010: The Folding Plug. It was designed by Min-Kyu Choi.
- 2011: The Plumen 001 lightbulb. It was designed by Samuel Wilkinson and Hulger.
- 2012: The London 2012 Olympic Torch. It was designed by BarberOsgerby.
- 2013: The website "GOV.UK". It was designed by the Government Digital Service.
- 2014: The Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan. It was designed by architect Zaha Hadid.
- 2015: Human-organs-on-Chips. These were designed by Donald Ingber and Dan Dongeun Huh.
- 2020: Teeter-Totter Wall. It was designed by architects Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello.
See also
In Spanish: Design Museum para niños
- List of design museums
- Design Council exhibition centre
