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Photo Mug : Upper gallery JLP01_08_062289

Upper gallery JLP01_08_062289




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Home Decor From Historic England

Upper gallery JLP01_08_062289

COMMONWEALTH INSTITUTE, KENSINGTON HIGH STREET, KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA, GREATER LONDON. An interior view of the upper gallery in the Commonwealth Institute exhibition hall showing the beams of the outer roof sections.
Laing built the Commonwealth Institute between October 1960 and October 1962 to replace the former Imperial Institute that was to be demolished to make way for new facilities at Imperial College. The building consisted of a four-storey administrative block housing a library, restaurant, board room and conference hall and a separate two-storey b lock containing a cinema with an art gallery above, but the focus of the project was the exhibition hall with its hyperbolic paraboloid roof, the first of its kind constructed in Great Britain. The exhibition, designed by James Gardner, provided spaces where each of the Commonwealth nations could showcase their achievements and characteristics, primarily to school children as teaching aids to enliven history and geography lessons.
The shell arch of the central roof section was of reinforced concrete, cast in situ using timber formwork with rough sawn boards to provide a textured internal surface whilst the four outer " warps" were constructed using precast beams and wood wool slabs, blocks of shredded timber bound together in a cement paste and left visible from the interior. The entire roof was then clad in copper sheeting over a layer of vermiculite. It covers an area of 33, 700sqft, 183 feet square with the central section 93 feet square and ranges between 30ft high at its lowest and 80ft at the peaks

Media ID 24320084

© Historic England Archive

1960s Construction Curves Interior Light


Large Photo Mug (15 oz)

Elevate your coffee or tea experience with our premium white ceramic mug. Its wide, comfortable handle makes drinking easy, and you can rely on it to be both microwave and dishwasher safe. Sold in single units, preview may show both sides of the same mug so you can see how the picture wraps around.

Elevate your coffee or tea experience with our premium white ceramic mug. Its wide, comfortable handle makes drinking easy, and you can rely on it to be both microwave and dishwasher safe. Sold in single units, preview may show both sides of the same mug so you can see how the picture wraps around.

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