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Photos: First V&A East building tops out in East London ceremony

2021-12-15T13:42:00-05:00

Exciting news in the museum world as the first site of the long-awaited Victoria & Albert Museum’s East extension has officially topped out as of this week.

The new V&A East has been years in the making. After overcoming roadblocks which threatened its existence beginning with sharp public criticism at its inception in 2016 and lasting all the way until this past fall, when it was announced that a much-heralded partnership with the American Smithsonian institution had to be called off thanks to unforeseen circumstances caused by the pandemic.

The O'Donnell + Tuomey-designed building is one of two slated to transform East London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park into a premier destination for the city’s artistic community.

The building was inspired by an x-ray of Cristóbal Balenciaga’s 1956 silk taffeta dress and will house a slate of progressive exhibitions and an employment program which includes the newly-established V&A East Youth Collective along...

Diller Scofidio + Renfro and O'Donnell + Tuomey unveil designs for V&A East project

2018-11-02T16:43:00-04:00

London's Victoria & Albert Museum unveiled the anticipated design plans for the V&A East project in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Scheduled to open in 2023 as part of the £1.1 billion East Bank development, the project comprises of two interconnected sites: a new 5-story museum at Stratford Waterfront designed by Dublin-based O'Donnell + Tuomey Architects, and the new Here East collection and research center designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, with support from British architecture firm Austin-Smith:Lord.

V&A collection and research center at Here East

Interior rendering of the new V&A collection and research center at Here East, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Pictured above is a marquetry ceiling from the now-destroyed Altamira Palace near Toledo, Spain, c.1490. © Diller Scofidio + Renfro, 2018.

Flexible display space in the new V&A collection and research center at Here East, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro. © Diller Scofidio + Renfro, 2018.

Rendering of Edgar J. Kaufm...

Kengo Kuma's V&A Dundee Museum opens; interiors revealed!

2018-09-13T14:04:00-04:00

The V&A Dundee Museum opens its doors tomorrow with the 3D Festival, a free two-day event on September 14 and 15. The grand opening will include performances, dance, design, and lighting collaborations.

V&A Dundee Museum by Kengo Kuma, located in Scotland. ©HuftonCrow

The museum was designed by Kengo Kuma and is his first building in the UK. Along with the forthcoming opening, the museum has unveiled the interior architecture revealing a light filled wooden design.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Oak Room at the V&A Dundee ©HuftonCrow

Scottish Design Galleries V&A Dundee ©HuftonCrow

As Scotland's first design museum, the space features 300 exhibits drawn from the V&A’s collections of Scottish design, as well as from museums and private collections across Scotland and the world.

V&A Dundee Museum by Kengo Kuma, located in Scotland. ©HuftonCrow

Free tickets to the 3D Festival on ...

Kengo Kuma visits his ship-like V&A Dundee museum as exterior nears completion

2017-10-18T16:09:00-04:00

Ten years after a Dundee V&A museum was first considered, the finishing touches are being applied to the exterior of the £80.1m building ahead of its opening next summer. [...] No amount of artist's impressions and computer-generated fly-throughs could have prepared the city for the true size and scale of the imposing design of Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, who will inspect the building on Wednesday.

Kengo Kuma was in Scotland today to inspect construction progress on the impressive V&A Museum of Design Dundee he designed.

Video via V&A Dundee on YouTube

He seemed very pleased, stating: "As an architect, seeing a completed building can be stressful, as some times the quality isn’t satisfactory. But in this case the quality, and the attention to detail has given me great satisfaction to see. I was so impressed when I saw how the building works together with the River Tay. Some museums are just boxes – this isn’t just a box, it is linked to nature."

Closeup of the exterior walls. Image via V&A Dundee on Facebook.

The project is making significant strides, having just completed the exterior walls with its 2,500 cast stone panels that wrap the volume like planks on a sailing ship. Construction crews also recently dismantled the temporary cofferdam that separated the structure from the River Tay.

The building is scheduled to open in 2018.