0:00:03 > 0:00:04Hello there, I'm Matthew Wright.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07You're watching Inside Out London.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10Here's what's coming up.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13With 400 new tower blocks in the pipeline we ask is London
0:00:13 > 0:00:17becoming the new Dubai on Thames?
0:00:17 > 0:00:19The boom in skyscrapers is not something that really improves
0:00:19 > 0:00:23the lot of average Londoner.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26The flats are much too expensive.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30We uncover the secrets of a deserted island littered
0:00:30 > 0:00:31with old human skeletons.
0:00:31 > 0:00:32Rather a large...
0:00:32 > 0:00:35Oh, it could be a leg bone, couldn't it?
0:00:35 > 0:00:36Wow!
0:00:36 > 0:00:38That's a thigh bone.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42A thigh bone, and some more, are they ribs there?
0:00:42 > 0:00:46And how London's newest museum is wowing crowds.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48It's the first time we've had our collection available
0:00:48 > 0:00:51for free for the public.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54There is a thirst for design and design is growing
0:00:54 > 0:00:54and moving into other areas.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07London is continuing to go up in the world,
0:01:07 > 0:01:10and with hundreds of new residential tower blocks in the pipeline,
0:01:10 > 0:01:14our world-famous skyline is going through its biggest ever change.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17While this new development, potentially, means thousands
0:01:17 > 0:01:21of new homes, but is the building frenzy doing anything more
0:01:21 > 0:01:25than pushing up property prices and rewarding one foreign investors?
0:01:25 > 0:01:28Mark Jordan investigates.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32For 250 years Saint Pauls was the tallest building in London,
0:01:32 > 0:01:34then came the 1960s.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38Now the Post Office Tower is soaring to 620 feet.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42But look what we've done since then.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Today BT Tower is not even in London's top ten tallest.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50As we climbed 60, 70, 80 floors high.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53In London over 80 high-rise buildings are currently under
0:01:53 > 0:01:56construction over 20 stories, and there's permission
0:01:56 > 0:02:01for another 233.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03This is the scariest part of going over.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06More and more buildings going up all the time.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08It's like, we'll never be out of work.
0:02:08 > 0:02:1280% of the new towers are residential, London's
0:02:12 > 0:02:14skyline changing for ever.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19And this is going to be the most spectacular plays in London.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22The new high life, for a mere studio flat could cost over 1 million.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27We're now looking at the casino element of property,
0:02:27 > 0:02:29we are going to end up with an oversupply of property that
0:02:29 > 0:02:33nobody wants to buy.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36Whoever imagined there'd be a penthouse in Stratford
0:02:36 > 0:02:43selling for 15 million.
0:02:43 > 0:02:49What a view!
0:02:49 > 0:02:51This is 42 stories high in Stratford, something
0:02:51 > 0:02:54that just a decade ago, would have been unimaginable.
0:02:54 > 0:03:01It's a big day for Manhattan Loft Gardens, they've reached the top.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03Founder, Harry Handelsman, has the Midas touch,
0:03:03 > 0:03:05he brought lofts to Clerkenwell and Bankside, when no
0:03:05 > 0:03:08one thought uncool.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12Now it's high-rise in Stratford.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15High-rise living has become very much a part
0:03:15 > 0:03:16of the London skies seen.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19But, to be honest, it's one skyscraper next to another
0:03:19 > 0:03:21skyscraper, but most of them are a patch for developers
0:03:21 > 0:03:24to make money.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26And for those that speculated at the right period
0:03:26 > 0:03:29of time to make money.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32I really wanted to see how we can redefine the high-rise living.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37So this will be a high-rise garden?
0:03:37 > 0:03:39This will be a garden.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42And it will be a communal garden for the residents,
0:03:42 > 0:03:48Stratford is actually a fantastic example for buildings like this.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50Studios here start at half a million app to ?15
0:03:50 > 0:03:54million for the penthouse.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57So many won't be able to afford it, does that trouble you?
0:03:57 > 0:03:59It does trouble me.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03I think, you know, I don't think what makes London great as the rich.
0:04:03 > 0:04:04The wealthy.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07That's not at all.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10As clients enjoy these views, 15 miles away at Richmond Park
0:04:10 > 0:04:14protesters gather to mourn how this Stratford tower turned
0:04:14 > 0:04:21their historic Saint Paul's view from this, into this.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23This is a very sad day.
0:04:23 > 0:04:24Seeing the view destroyed in this way.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Turns out the one granting planning permission for the Stratford
0:04:27 > 0:04:32tower considered this historic, protected view.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36This is a 300-year-old view, we would love for the building to be
0:04:36 > 0:04:40taken down, but realistically that's not going to happen.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44Skyline battles are being fought across London, built in 1695 these
0:04:44 > 0:04:50Wren designed Whitechapel almshouses face being overshadowed
0:04:50 > 0:04:53by a Sainsbury's development.
0:04:53 > 0:04:58The proposal now is to build on the site behind, an array
0:04:58 > 0:05:00of towers, 28 stories high.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02It's wrong.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04I think everyone in Whitechapel should boycott Sainsbury's.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08The only reason they want a tower is because they want the luxury
0:05:08 > 0:05:10apartments with incredible views of Central London.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12Good evening, everybody.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Decision time at the council.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18The man from Sainsbury's warns them if great tower is refused the entire
0:05:18 > 0:05:22redevelopment will no longer be viable, along with the promised
0:05:22 > 0:05:26127 affordable homes.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29We will return for the vote later.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32And then the neighbours came out quite a way.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34Architect Barbra Weiss believes councils are being bulldozed
0:05:34 > 0:05:37into the 436 proposed new towers for London.
0:05:37 > 0:05:42Borrowers are strapped for cash, the way it goes is a developer
0:05:42 > 0:05:46suggests building a certain height of building, in exchange
0:05:46 > 0:05:49they offer facilities, and the facilities could be
0:05:49 > 0:05:53a school, they could be a swimming pool, it could be a library.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57And then there's a lot of trading that goes on,
0:05:57 > 0:06:01and the local residents have very little say.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03Such deals are totally legal.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06The boom in skyscrapers is not something that really improves
0:06:06 > 0:06:10the lot of the average Londoner.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12The flats are much too expensive.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16Our suspicion is that we will have whole areas where there are just
0:06:16 > 0:06:19a few flats that are going to have lights on at night.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22They can resell them as new in a few years down the line.
0:06:22 > 0:06:28This is one Blackfriars in Southwark, where the Council
0:06:28 > 0:06:33aspires to 35% affordable housing in new projects.
0:06:33 > 0:06:38Yet, here, 50 stories of pure luxury, a one bed studio
0:06:38 > 0:06:41sells for 1.15 million.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45Not one single home in this tower is affordable, instead,
0:06:45 > 0:06:48the developers gave the council ?29 million to build that type
0:06:48 > 0:06:53of home somewhere else.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56That is only 6 million more than they are asking
0:06:56 > 0:06:59for one single penthouse.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01But the regeneration has created 1000 jobs on a site
0:07:01 > 0:07:06derelict for over a decade.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09With the biggest problem with developments like this,
0:07:09 > 0:07:12is that they stated aim is to increase the value
0:07:12 > 0:07:15of property in the area.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18And that's not a good thing, because people already struggle
0:07:18 > 0:07:22to find somewhere that they can afford to buy around here.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24It's going to make it even worse.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29Double whammy is the fact that the council will take the money
0:07:29 > 0:07:32for the affordable housing and spend it on the south of the border,
0:07:32 > 0:07:37so people who would social housing in this area will have to move.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39That's just not fair.
0:07:39 > 0:07:45Up river in Vauxhall, here's what developers want.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48A recent investigation into this 50 story luxury block found its 214
0:07:48 > 0:07:52flats had only 60 people registered to vote.
0:07:52 > 0:07:58While, someone out there it's even been reported that one oligarch has
0:07:58 > 0:08:01imported his own Russian Orthodox chapel into his ?51
0:08:01 > 0:08:08million penthouse.
0:08:08 > 0:08:09The developers wouldn't talk to us.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12But George Turner tries to keep track.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15Great blows away the myths that the development industry has
0:08:15 > 0:08:19been peddling that this high-rise boom has anything to do
0:08:19 > 0:08:23with delivering the type of housing that London needs.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26Probably, the majority of homes in this building don't have people
0:08:26 > 0:08:30registered on the electoral roll, which means they are highly likely
0:08:30 > 0:08:33to be used as either a holiday homes or by and leave homes,
0:08:33 > 0:08:36or as an investment opportunity.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39I think the only hope we have is that these developments
0:08:39 > 0:08:42are so speculative and so crazy from an economic point of view
0:08:42 > 0:08:46that the turning market will wipe a lot of them out.
0:08:46 > 0:08:51These proposed towers are worrying some investors.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53Very few people will lose any sleep over a multimillionaire foreign
0:08:53 > 0:08:56investor losing money on property, but the concern is that it may well
0:08:56 > 0:08:59infect the wider market.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Confidence is everything in the housing market.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04And if we see the top end of the housing market
0:09:04 > 0:09:11start to topple that could have wider implications.
0:09:11 > 0:09:12While most developers remained camera shy,
0:09:12 > 0:09:16others point out that they deals with councils still provide most
0:09:16 > 0:09:20new affordable housing, even with their lawyers often having
0:09:20 > 0:09:23the upper hand.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Local authorities need more resources.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29The average pay for a planning barrister is ten times
0:09:29 > 0:09:32what a local plan gets.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36What's not so obvious is, you know, the of affordable housing that gets
0:09:36 > 0:09:40provided off the back of these schemes.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43The scheme we are right here in dollar Bay has allowed
0:09:43 > 0:09:4739% affordable housing.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49And finally, we are back to Whitechapel.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52Sainsbury's warned if their high rise was refused, 127 affordable
0:09:52 > 0:09:56homes would be lost.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Can I see those who are in favour of the refusal of this
0:09:59 > 0:10:01application please?
0:10:01 > 0:10:05That is unanimous.
0:10:05 > 0:10:10One last tower, over 400 more still in the pipeline.
0:10:10 > 0:10:17Mark Jordan reporting there.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19Now then, still to come on to make's show.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Once you come off the park, which is amazing, you go
0:10:21 > 0:10:25through the museum doors and then you are into this
0:10:25 > 0:10:27incredible cathedral.
0:10:27 > 0:10:28It soars up.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31You see the underside of the sweeping roof,
0:10:31 > 0:10:35and different floors where you might want to visit.
0:10:35 > 0:10:41Spine tingling tales of a mysterious uninhabited island
0:10:41 > 0:10:47concealing dark secrets.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49That might sound like something ripped from the pages
0:10:49 > 0:10:52of a Gothic horror novel, but they really is just such
0:10:52 > 0:10:54a place, and it's only 40 miles from central London,
0:10:54 > 0:10:56by the most of the Thames.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59Natalie Graham has the spooky story, but I should warn you that some
0:10:59 > 0:11:08viewers might find parts of this film disturbing.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12I've heard stories about this eerie island off the coast of Sheppey,
0:11:12 > 0:11:16so I've had to come here and see it for myself to find out
0:11:16 > 0:11:19whether the truth is stranger than fiction.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22I'm going to the small harbour town of Queenborough which sets
0:11:22 > 0:11:25just across the water from the mysterious island.
0:11:25 > 0:11:31When I stopped at the hostelry for the night I was told that
0:11:31 > 0:11:38others had come before me.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42They'd heard the story about the hound.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44The hound?
0:11:44 > 0:11:45The hound.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48The hound with the red death staring eyes.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50I've not heard that story yet.
0:11:50 > 0:11:51Well they had heard it.
0:11:51 > 0:11:57There were bodies buried without skulls.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00And people said that the hound had eaten the skulls, you see.
0:12:00 > 0:12:06And they were rowing away into the darkness and the farm
0:12:06 > 0:12:08and they suddenly hear the sound, and they look, and there
0:12:09 > 0:12:13are two red eyes gleaming.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16So what did they do?
0:12:16 > 0:12:17Scarpered?
0:12:17 > 0:12:19Scarpered!
0:12:19 > 0:12:23This talk of supernatural devil dogs is obviously just myth.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26I am a bit sceptical, I have to say.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29But there is a more serious claim about the island.
0:12:29 > 0:12:36That it is littered with human remains.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38Because it's a boneyard, it will have an atmosphere
0:12:38 > 0:12:40that is sad and lonely.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43You must make sure that you feel you can't take that.
0:12:43 > 0:12:44OK.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46Thank you for the warning.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50An island solely populated by the dead.
0:12:50 > 0:12:55The story seems to have been handed down from generation to generation.
0:12:55 > 0:13:00# From Sandgate Creek to dead man's aisle.
0:13:00 > 0:13:07And the name of this macabre place is dead man's island.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09The locals were keen to prove there was more
0:13:09 > 0:13:13to this island band myths, soaking up the very next morning
0:13:13 > 0:13:19the rowing club agreed to take me to Dead Man's Island themselves.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22Hello.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24The island is a site of special scientific interest,
0:13:24 > 0:13:27owned by natural England.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29Hi, everyone.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32It's out of bounds for visitors due to the birds that make it their home
0:13:32 > 0:13:36at certain times of the year.
0:13:36 > 0:13:42But we've received permission for a special visit.
0:13:46 > 0:13:47This is it, Daphne?
0:13:47 > 0:13:49I've arrived at Dead Man's Island.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53At what is known, chillingly, as Coffin Bay.
0:13:53 > 0:13:59What i saw will stay with me forever.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02This island was covered with human remains.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06That's definitely a piece of the coffin.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10And there are two bones there.
0:14:10 > 0:14:11There is another one here.
0:14:11 > 0:14:12Yes, you are right.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16There's a vertebrae.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21There's the Coffin, Natalie, that's just broken away.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23So if we come up a little bit.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25Rather a large...
0:14:25 > 0:14:26Oh, my!
0:14:26 > 0:14:28Could be a leg bone, couldn't it?
0:14:28 > 0:14:30That's a thigh bone.
0:14:30 > 0:14:35A thigh bone and some ribs there.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40So here we have, clearly, two pairs of human legs in a wooden box.
0:14:40 > 0:14:41In a wooden box, yes.
0:14:41 > 0:14:46Where do these bodies come from?
0:14:46 > 0:14:49Well, over two centuries ago the waters around here were a very
0:14:49 > 0:14:52different place indeed.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56They were home to floating prisons, known as the prison hulks.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00They were dark, and they were forbidding.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04The prison hulks were former warships, stripped of their masts,
0:15:04 > 0:15:11rigging and sales.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15Big gun ports were covered with bars, and they were given
0:15:15 > 0:15:19fitting names like justice, retribution and captivity.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21Lots of crimes carried the death penalty.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24But as a way of being humane, and also to inhabit the colonies,
0:15:24 > 0:15:29it was decided it would be a good idea to transport convicts.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33Also, there wasn't much space in prisons.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35But, this, has some effect on the inhabitants
0:15:35 > 0:15:39of Dead Man's Island you tended to find that if people were not
0:15:39 > 0:15:42considered healthy enough to take the voyage to Australia they'd be
0:15:42 > 0:15:43left in the hulks.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46I was going to ask would be kind of crimes these people
0:15:46 > 0:15:47would have committed.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49There were people who picked pockets, including ten-year-olds.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Who had been sentenced to 15 years transportation
0:15:51 > 0:15:52for picking a pocket in London.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54So we're not talking about mass murderers?
0:15:54 > 0:15:59No, no.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02No these were the people who were suffering from the Draconian
0:16:02 > 0:16:03penal laws of the period.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06And when those prisoners died they were buried in unmarked graves
0:16:06 > 0:16:07on Dead Man's Island.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09And Ireland which is now slowly eroding.
0:16:09 > 0:16:18Once you start looking, you start to see what might be
0:16:18 > 0:16:20be Coffins everywhere.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24This is where you can see the depth of where they were buried.
0:16:24 > 0:16:25Yes, six feet, pretty much, isn't it?
0:16:25 > 0:16:27They were buried properly and steeply.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30With the major problem, really, was that you had
0:16:30 > 0:16:35a lot of men together, a lot of boys together,
0:16:35 > 0:16:39and if an epidemic began to occur then it would spread.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41This was particularly important in the early 1830s
0:16:41 > 0:16:43when Retribution was here, because they was
0:16:43 > 0:16:45the cholera epidemic.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48And I suspect a lot of the people out there died in that.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51I was joined on my trip by archaeologist Doctor Paul Wilkinson
0:16:51 > 0:16:55who could help me find out more about the remains.
0:16:55 > 0:16:56Here's a human pelvic bone.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00A young male.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02And, obviously, died in some disease, that's
0:17:02 > 0:17:04why he's buried here.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07Can you tell that, you, we are surmising because
0:17:07 > 0:17:10of the circumstances?
0:17:10 > 0:17:12What makes you think that's disease?
0:17:12 > 0:17:15The holes in it?
0:17:15 > 0:17:20The holes in it, but also this particular island was retained
0:17:20 > 0:17:23for the people who died of contagious diseases.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27And so the policy was to actually bury them here, that's
0:17:27 > 0:17:30disease wouldn't then erupt through the prison ships
0:17:30 > 0:17:33and the local populations.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36It really is Dead Man's Island.
0:17:36 > 0:17:41We've certainly seen some of Dead Man's Island's secrets,
0:17:41 > 0:17:44but the longer you spend your looking out across the mud,
0:17:44 > 0:17:48the more you start thinking about the hundreds of other people
0:17:48 > 0:17:50lying beneath the surface who will no doubt be exposed
0:17:51 > 0:17:54over the years to come.
0:17:54 > 0:18:01You start wondering what kind of society dumped them
0:18:01 > 0:18:04all here with no name, no number, on their Coffins.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06It would be more right if there was a proper memorial
0:18:06 > 0:18:10to these poor souls, these have nothing.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13They just have an island named after them.
0:18:13 > 0:18:19Dead Man's Island.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23The tide began to rise faster than expected, so we had to leave.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26It seemed as if the islands didn't want to give up too
0:18:26 > 0:18:29many secrets too soon.
0:18:29 > 0:18:37That was an extraordinary place we visited today.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41It wasn't quite the way some people described it.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43For me, it wasn't particularly frightening or didn't seem to be
0:18:43 > 0:18:46a place inhabited by monsters, for me it was incredibly still,
0:18:46 > 0:18:54and actually quite magical.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58And I wonder if those myths and legends that have grown up over
0:18:58 > 0:19:02the years have done the inhabitants of Dead Man's Island a favour
0:19:02 > 0:19:05by warning the rest of us away and allowing them to rest in peace.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07It's been over 35 years since Sir Terence Conran set
0:19:14 > 0:19:17It's been over 35 years since Sir Terence Conran set
0:19:17 > 0:19:20up the design Museum, and justly few weeks ago it
0:19:20 > 0:19:25reopened in a spectacular new West London home.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27The ?85 million site is one of London's most 1960s
0:19:27 > 0:19:31buildings come back to life, and can hold its head high
0:19:31 > 0:19:35amongst the capital's other world-class museums.
0:19:35 > 0:19:42Kensington, home to a cluster of capital's finest museums.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Dedicated to science, natural history, and the decorative arts.
0:19:45 > 0:19:53And now London's Museum quarter has just welcomed its latest arrival.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55It's incredibly exciting to be curating in this new building,
0:19:55 > 0:19:58no one's ever done these exhibitions here before.
0:19:58 > 0:19:59Or use these galleries before.
0:19:59 > 0:20:04It's the first time.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07We have a collection that is available for free for the public,
0:20:07 > 0:20:08there is a first for design.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Design is growing and is moving into other areas that
0:20:11 > 0:20:12its previously not engaged with.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14This is a place which inspires another generation of designers.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16Those who are going to be the creative underpinnings
0:20:16 > 0:20:20for London's economy.
0:20:20 > 0:20:26The design Museum has come a long way since it started life back
0:20:26 > 0:20:29in the early 80s as an exhibition space in the V's basement.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32It was then known as the boiler house project, and the brainchild
0:20:32 > 0:20:41of Sir Terence Conran.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43Ride just launched habitat is a public company,
0:20:43 > 0:20:50and for the first time in my life I had a mountain of money.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54So I thought I'd like to finance something which looked at design
0:20:54 > 0:20:58in a contemporary way and looked at the future.
0:20:58 > 0:21:06The museum moved to its first permanent home in 1989,
0:21:06 > 0:21:11a former banana ripening warehouse.
0:21:11 > 0:21:16But in 2006 the search began for a bigger, bolder location.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19I was hired by the design Museum almost ten years ago with a brief
0:21:19 > 0:21:22to find somewhere we could move the museum to which would be larger,
0:21:22 > 0:21:24more accessible and put us on the map, quite literally.
0:21:24 > 0:21:29So we talked, in the early days, to the Tate about buying
0:21:29 > 0:21:31some land behind them.
0:21:31 > 0:21:32We looked at King's cross.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35We looked at a City Hall.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39But finally the idea of bringing the Commonwealth Institute back
0:21:39 > 0:21:42to life, that building, I remember as a schoolboy was
0:21:42 > 0:21:44the most modern landmark in London.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47Bringing it back to life from its state of decay
0:21:47 > 0:21:48seemed irresistible.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51The Institute built on the edge of Holland Park was used
0:21:51 > 0:21:53to showcase exhibits from across the Commonwealth
0:21:53 > 0:22:00until its closure in 2003.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04Since then though, like other buildings from the post-war era,
0:22:04 > 0:22:07its design style has come roaring back into fashion.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11In the same way that Victoriana got transformed from being a joke
0:22:11 > 0:22:13and an eyesore into heritage, so now we see the 60s
0:22:13 > 0:22:15very differently.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19Being one of the first to bring back to life building from that period,
0:22:19 > 0:22:22I think we're setting some kind landmark.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25The architect was selected for the job after an
0:22:25 > 0:22:29international competition.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31By removing audience to's old balconies and platforms
0:22:31 > 0:22:37he was able to dramatically open up the space.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41Once you come off the park, which is amazing, you go
0:22:41 > 0:22:43through the museum doors and you are into this
0:22:43 > 0:22:46incredible cathedral.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49It's all up and you see the underside of the sweeping roof.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54He replaced most of the building's exterior, but retained
0:22:54 > 0:23:04the Institute's copper roof, a classic mid-20th-century design.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07In the 50s and 60s engineers have developed a form
0:23:07 > 0:23:12which they called hyperbolic, which is a fancy name for something
0:23:12 > 0:23:16that looks a bit like a saddle.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20The soaring inside is spectacular.
0:23:20 > 0:23:25The transformation of the common institution took for
0:23:25 > 0:23:29long years and threw up many technical challenges.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32A 2-storey deep basement had to be excavated,
0:23:32 > 0:23:37and the roof propped up why the old floors were removed.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40Last November, after a two-year delay, the museum was finally ready
0:23:40 > 0:23:41to open its doors to the public.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45We've grown to three times the size in this new building.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48It's the first time we've had our collection available
0:23:48 > 0:23:51for free to the public.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55That's really important because it helps us to tell the story
0:23:55 > 0:24:01about what design is, and make the point of how important
0:24:01 > 0:24:02design is to people.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05The free collection includes a crowd sourced wall featuring over 200
0:24:05 > 0:24:11popular consumer items chosen by the public.
0:24:11 > 0:24:16We have many thousands of exhibits, and they've been built up
0:24:16 > 0:24:17over the past 25 years.
0:24:17 > 0:24:25Instead of showing things chronologically, we want to show
0:24:25 > 0:24:28things thematically.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30So, anyway, the whole exhibition is a big story.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33We look at things like motorway road signs in the 60s,
0:24:33 > 0:24:35by taking it out of context it enables people to look
0:24:35 > 0:24:37at it with fresh eyes.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39Bill Muggeridge, who is a British designer, he designed
0:24:39 > 0:24:40the first ever laptop.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43So it shows how this technology that was previously out of touch
0:24:43 > 0:24:46for the common consumer is slowly trickling down and becoming part
0:24:46 > 0:24:47of the everyday objects.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51London has always been a place which is good at design.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54No design collection is complete without a map
0:24:55 > 0:25:01of the London Underground.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Sadiq Khan has selected a London transport round for our collection,
0:25:03 > 0:25:10and I'm going to give a preview of the new generation
0:25:10 > 0:25:11tube rolling stock.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14As well as the free collection the museum is currently hosting
0:25:14 > 0:25:17a brand-new ticketed exhibition running until April 23.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19Fear nd love is an exhibition about what design is today
0:25:19 > 0:25:22and what its role in the world is.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26It picks up on a mood of anxiety and uncertainty,
0:25:26 > 0:25:28and designs place within that.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31There's a lot of uncertainty about what design is as well.
0:25:31 > 0:25:37And we invited 11 designers from around the world to come
0:25:37 > 0:25:40to the museum and make an installation about an issue
0:25:40 > 0:25:42they feel strongly about.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45The designers came up with some intriguing exhibits,
0:25:45 > 0:25:48the pan-European living room is furnished with a piece
0:25:48 > 0:25:53of design from each of the 28 EU member countries.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56Other highlights include a series of 3-D printed death masks,
0:25:56 > 0:26:02and piles of recycled fibres taken from 1000 discarded woollen jumpers.
0:26:02 > 0:26:08And then there's this.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11I was tasked with coming up with a response to automation
0:26:11 > 0:26:14and robotics, and some of the challenges we are currently
0:26:14 > 0:26:18facing and will continue to face in the future with how humans
0:26:18 > 0:26:20and robots are going to work together in society.
0:26:20 > 0:26:25I wanted to turn the robot into a creature, a companion that
0:26:25 > 0:26:28you can have an empathic relationship with and gets to think
0:26:28 > 0:26:32of as a, not a thing, not a tool, but something
0:26:32 > 0:26:38you will have a two-way relationship with.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40Is more ambitious exhibitions lined up for this year and beyond,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43the design Museum is poised to claim its place as a new
0:26:43 > 0:26:47cornerstone of the museum quarter.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50This really does raise it on to a global stage.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53The museum will be the home of design, debate, discussion
0:26:53 > 0:26:59and some of the best exhibitions in the world.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02The museum certainly reflects how reliant the design industry
0:27:02 > 0:27:05is an international influences and cooperation, and that
0:27:05 > 0:27:08couldn't be more timely.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11I think the Brexit certainly makes it important that we as
0:27:11 > 0:27:18manufacturers use design in the export markets.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21We talk all the time about Britain being the most creative nation,
0:27:21 > 0:27:26and we want to demonstrate that design is part of this creativity
0:27:26 > 0:27:31that infuses the nation.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35I remember visiting the Commonwealth Institute along
0:27:35 > 0:27:42time ago when I was a kid, it's great to see what they've
0:27:42 > 0:27:44done with that place.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48That's nearly all for this evening, before we go, let's have a quick
0:27:48 > 0:27:51look at what's coming up next week.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53Can the name harm your job chances?
0:27:53 > 0:27:58In their minds they have a link between Islam and terrorism.
0:27:58 > 0:28:04Maybe that's playing a role behind wavy look at a Muslim name and think
0:28:04 > 0:28:06this is somebody I don't want to emply.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08Widely Brexit vote has led the future of our European ministers
0:28:08 > 0:28:10hanging in the balance.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14The NHS is already gravely understaffed.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17So if you take away the EU nurses it will be mayhem.
0:28:17 > 0:28:18It will be chaos.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21And the American fish invading our waterways.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24It was recognised that these crayfish they thought were immune
0:28:24 > 0:28:28from the plague, carried it.
0:28:28 > 0:28:38That will kill any non-American crayfish within two or three weeks.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41That's all from Inside Out London.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43If you missed tonight's show and would like to catch up
0:28:43 > 0:28:46on the iPlayer then had to our website.
0:28:46 > 0:28:51The address is on screen, just click on London.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Thanks for watching, and see you next week.
0:29:05 > 0:29:10Hello, I'm Riz Lateef with your 90-second update.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12Hello, I'm Riz Lateef with your 90-second update.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15Protests in Downing Street tonight against Donald Trump's travel ban
0:29:15 > 0:29:16on several Muslim countries.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18More than 1.4 million have now signed a petition calling