Terence Conran: Innovation, originality and beauty are my real passions

It’s restaurateur, designer, writer and philanthropist Sir Terence Conran’s 81st birthday next month (on 4 October). Last year, to commemorate his 80th, among other things, he donated £17.5m to the Design Museum, which he founded more than 30 years ago in the basement of the Victoria & Albert museum. Last week, the relocation of the Design Museum from Shad Thames to the former Commonwealth Institute on Kensington High Street began. The ambitious project will offer the museum three times the amount of floorspace of the old building and cement it’s position as an international centre for design. blogs.independent.co.uk speaks to the father of modern British design about this incredibly important pet project.

By Emily Jupp | Arts, Notebook | Friday, 21 September 2012 at 6:00 am