A new and prestigious venue for the Design Museum. The museum in London dedicated to modern design and architecture - founded in 1989 by Terence Conran and sold in 2013 to Zaha Hadid’s architecture firm - reopened its doors last 24 November, in the former Commonwealth Institute in Holland Park.

The structure, designed by John Pawson in collaboration with the architecture firm OMA by Rem Koolhaas, it replaced the old location in Shad Thames in east London and tripled the size of the spaces to house almost 650,000 visitors a year. The position is considerable, situated in 224-238 Kensington High Street, one of London most elegant shopping destinations, inside a 1960s historic building, it extends over 10,000 squares metres. The edifice hosts a permanent exhibit called Designer Maker User, presenting icon items of 20th century such as the punk creations by Vivienne Westwood or the Burberry trench coat, and six temporary exhibitions a year. The first is Fear and Love. Reactions to a Complex World, which highlights the role of the design plays in contemporary society and includes ‘The Pan-European Living Room’, an installation realized by OMA containing creations from 28 European Union member countries and “Room Tone” by the British-Turkish designer Hussein Chalayan, who realized a range of wearable devices that can interprete the emotions.

In addition to the show space, there is also a restaurant, shop café, the Bakala auditorium, the Sackler Library, a designers in residence studio and the Swarovski Foundation Centre for Learning, which offers program, events and activities for schools, adult learners and design professionals.

The opening of the Design Museum coincides with the ninth edition of Breazley Designs of the Year, that celebrates the best project from the last 12 months across six categories: architecture, digital, fashion, graphic, product and transport. Among the projects in competition Fondazione Prada in Milan by Oma firm and David Bowie's Blackstar final album cover. The exhibition is visible until 19 February, while the winners will be announced on 26 January.

Anna Rita Russo © Modemonline