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Commonwealth Institute Kensington High Street, London W8 Sanctioned by an act of parliament in 1958 after the demolition of the Imperial Institute (1887) on Exhibition Row, the Commonwealth Institute was designed and constructed by architects RMJM between 1960-62 on a new site on the southern edge of Holland Park. Essentially a modern ‘pavilion’ in brick and concrete, supporting a dramatic triangulated curved sheet-copper roof, it reflected post-colonial thinking of the 1960’s with a brief to be educational, user-friendly, informal and flexible. The huge three-storey open-plan public exhibition space at its heart was originally fitted out by James Gardner, the outstanding British exhibition designer of the period. It conveyed the idea of the unity and diversity of the modern Commonwealth and pioneered the concept, established at the Festival of Britain, of closely relating architectural form and display. The exhibitions could be viewed from a circular platform overlooking the entire space, dramatically lit with a combination of natural and artificial lighting set into the coffered ceiling, the latter activated automatically to maintain a constant level of light. The main building is an important example of post-war construction and engineering advances. The 183 sq ft roofscape – the largest of its kind at the time – is made up of equilateral and ‘bastard’ hyperbolic paraboloids in swept shell concrete, and its listing description by English Heritage calls it the ‘first major swept roof contribution to the international traditions of dramatic roof profiles’, a movement pioneered by Nowicki, Saarinen and Stubbins in the USA, Otto in Germany and Candela in Mexico. The surrounding lower level administration and conference buildings, which were largely hidden by a curtain of brightly coloured commonwealth flags along Kensington High Street, are attractively set in landscaping to designs by Dame Sylvia Crowe. Crowe created a bold but serene design using water to reflect the buildings, sky and flags, spare in its simplicity and successful in enhancing an urban site. During a period of nearly 40 years the Institute played host to royalty and statesmen from across the globe and giving several generations of schoolchildren their first glimpse of the wider world through a kaleidoscope of exhibitions and educational programmes supported by an impressive library. Despite a recent £3 million refurbishment, the Institute
is now empty. Although it is Grade II* listed, the Trustees of the
Institute have requested that the Secretary of State consider de-listing.
For this reason The Twentieth Century Society consider it to be
at risk. The Society has strongly objected to the de-listing proposal
and is hopeful that another client can be found to take over the
building and find a new use for it.
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