London Design Museum signs Memorandum of Understand​ing

London’s Design Museum has signed an agreement to be part of a Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) with The Seoul Design Foundation. Becoming part of an international consortium of design institutions, which includes the

Seoul Design Foundation, Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York, Vitra Design Museum, Frankfurt Museum of Applied Arts, Red Dot Design in Germany, Taiwan Design Centre and Objeto Brazil, the MOU is a global association of design institutions creating improved networks for communications, collaborations with touring exhibitions and learning programmes, promotional activities and development initiatives.

Aimed at creating a direct link between design cities from London to Korea, the Design Museum will tour to the Zaha Hadid designed Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Korea which will open in 2013. In turn the Dongdaemun will make return tour exhibitions here in London.

Deyan Sudjic, Director of the Design Museum comments ‘Korea has firmly established itself as a global design leader and the West has much to learn from its unique design approach. This partnership opens a window to new collaborations and opportunities with design institutes around the world, securing the Design Museums place on the global design stage as we prepare to move to our new premises in 2014’. The Design Museum is the definitive voice of contemporary design in the UK. Founded in 1989 and currently located in Shad Thames, its work encompasses all elements of design, including product design, graphic design, and fashion.

The Design Museum will relocation to new premises at the former Commonwealth Institute, Kensington in 2014.This new Design Museum with interiors designed by John Pawson will be three times the size of its current home and will create a showcase for its world-class collection, and greatly expand its education and public events programme.