Design Museum Redesign Breaks Ground in London, Buries 100-Year Time Capsule

Second floor, showing the permanent exhibition. John Pawson Ltd. Image by Alex Morris Visualisation

The British penchant for eccentricity was in full view last month when a time capsule was buried at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new

Design Museum

at the former Commonwealth Institute, an iconic 1960s architectural landmark on Kensington Street, West London.

Mindful of posterity’s interest in looking back to assess the value of everyday objects, the contents – nominated by key figures in the world of architecture and design – represent the soon to-be-extinct standard light bulb (

Thomas Heatherwick

), one Euro Coin (

Cecil Balmond

), to the more idiosyncratic such as a tin of anchovies and a bottle of burgundy along with the ubiquitous iPhone 4S (museum founder Sir Terence Conran), among other selections.

Second floor, showing the permanent exhibition. John Pawson Ltd. Image by Alex Morris Visualisation

Sir Conran sees the opening of the new museum in 2015 “as a truly momentous moment that will promote and celebrate design and architecture significantly, shaping the future of this country,” a vision realized in architect

John Pawson

’s reconfiguration of the interior into a state-of-the-art facility tripling the center’s existing space to present a wider range of exhibitions and expanded education programs,

Funding for the 100-million-dollar museum is being secured from a consortium group of donors, among them the

Heritage Lottery Fund

and the developer

Chelsfeld Partners

who also donated the building and land.

Second floor, showing the permanent exhibition. John Pawson Ltd. Image by Alex Morris Visualisation