Terence Conran has announced plans to donate about £17.5m to the Design Museum's relocation plans.
The museum plans to move from its current location at Shad Thames to the former Commonwealth Institute building on Kensington High Street. The move, which will give the museum three times more space and enable it to expand its exhibition and learning programmes, is expected to complete by 2014 and cost £77m.
Conran’s donation towards the project includes a £7.5m cash gift and the value of the sale of the lease of the Shad Thames, which is valued at about £10m.
The designer, restauranteur and retailer said relocating to the Commonwealth Institute would “create a world class space with the size and scope for the serious promotion and celebration of design and architecture in this country”.
The Design Museum is currently fundraising for the remaining funds needed to relocate. It has an application for £4.65m of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund pending, and has secured funding from the developer of a residential scheme adjacent to the Commonwealth Institute.
Deyan Sudjic, director of Design Museum, said: "[Terence Conran's] gift to the Design Museum is a hugely generous investment in the future. By making our ambition to move to the former Commonwealth Institute much more achievable, he makes possible a project that will give the museum three times as much space as it has now."
Conran established the Boilerhouse – the forerunner of the Design Museum – in the basement of the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1982. The Design Museum opened in 1989 at Shad Thames.
The museum plans to move from its current location at Shad Thames to the former Commonwealth Institute building on Kensington High Street. The move, which will give the museum three times more space and enable it to expand its exhibition and learning programmes, is expected to complete by 2014 and cost £77m.
Conran’s donation towards the project includes a £7.5m cash gift and the value of the sale of the lease of the Shad Thames, which is valued at about £10m.
The designer, restauranteur and retailer said relocating to the Commonwealth Institute would “create a world class space with the size and scope for the serious promotion and celebration of design and architecture in this country”.
The Design Museum is currently fundraising for the remaining funds needed to relocate. It has an application for £4.65m of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund pending, and has secured funding from the developer of a residential scheme adjacent to the Commonwealth Institute.
Deyan Sudjic, director of Design Museum, said: "[Terence Conran's] gift to the Design Museum is a hugely generous investment in the future. By making our ambition to move to the former Commonwealth Institute much more achievable, he makes possible a project that will give the museum three times as much space as it has now."
Conran established the Boilerhouse – the forerunner of the Design Museum – in the basement of the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1982. The Design Museum opened in 1989 at Shad Thames.