A key part of the V&A’s expanding family of sites dedicated to the past, present and future of the designed world, V&A East is a brand new civic space and cultural destination that will form part of the Olympic legacy project taking shape at Stratford Waterfront.

The seven-storey building is being designed by award-winning architectural practice O’Donnell-Tuomey and is part of the masterplan developed with Allies and Morrison for the new educational and cultural district in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London. At 18,000 sq metres, V&A East will sit directly opposite Zaha Hadid’s London Aquatics Centre and adjacent to a group of partners with which the V&A has great creative synergy: Sadler’s Wells, UAL’s London College of Fashion and UCL (University College London).

V&A East will be an entirely new kind of civic institution. At its core will be the ability and remit to respond quickly to current affairs, and to use objects, the V&A collection, collaborations and displays to interpret events in the wider world. Its design will weave together galleries with space for exhibitions, conservation, residencies, research, making, debate, entertainment and play; allowing the visiting public to engage with and participate in all areas of its work. This flexible and dynamic constellation of spaces will surround a double- height ‘public living room’ that will spill out onto the waterfront and interact with the neighbouring institutions in the development.

Aspiring to be a model for how cultural and educational organisations can work in the future, V&A East will support the newest ideas, technology and talent through a collaborative, innovative and eclectic year-round programme. Temporary exhibitions that build on the V&A’s unrivaled and popular record will be juxtaposed with fast and responsive displays. It will drive forward the museum’s mission to inspire people about art, design and performance, will provide a home for contemporary design fields in the digital age and crucially, will dramatically increase the proportion of the V&A’s growing collection of 2.4m objects that can be on public display at any time.

Martin Roth, Director of the V&A said: “V&A East is an extraordinary new project. It is a chance to reinvent Henry Cole’s original vision for Albertopolis for the digital age, and to engage with the astounding creativity and heritage of east London. The creation of something so new, ambitious and risk-taking is a colossal opportunity and responsibility; with our incredible group of cultural partners, we are dedicated to making it one of the most vibrant, important and exciting cultural destinations in the world.”

Ahead of the building’s physical development, the V&A will this year start a rolling programme of events developed in partnership with organisations across east London. The first display, the Lansbury Micro Museum in Chrisp Street Market, Poplar, will open in May this year and celebrates the architecture and community of this exemplar housing estate built for the 1951 Festival of Britain Living Architecture exhibition.

Catherine Ince, Senior Curator V&A East: “Our hope for V&A East is to create an environment where visitors encounter objects and our collection in the most unexpected, enlightening and relevant of ways. Our vision is for a destination where visitors are always actively involved and where changes in the world around them are reflected, debated and challenged.

Firmly rooted in the evolving cultures, histories and attitudes of its East London home, V&A East is an incredible new chapter in the V&A’s story and we’re excited to see it start to take shape.”

The Stratford Waterfront masterplan is expected to go to planning in December 2016 with V&A East opening to the public at the end of 2021.