Contractor to hand over museum this month
The first images of Kengo Kuma鈥檚 拢80m V&A Dundee have been released.
The 8,000sq m museum is virtually complete 鈥� contractor Bam hands it over to the client at the end of the month before taking it back to do the interior fit-out. The V&A today announced it will open in September.
It will contain 1,650sq m of gallery space and be the institution鈥檚 first full museum outside London. The brainchild of Moira Gemmill, the V&A鈥檚 late director of design, it will contain a gallery named in her memory.
The museum stands at the centre of the 拢1bn transformation of the Dundee waterfront, once part of the city鈥檚 docklands.
It has ended up costing three times the original budget of 拢27m and nearly double the revised 拢45m budget which was set when Kuma won the job in 2010.
The Japanese architect beat teams that included Steven Holl and Rex, Snohetta with Gareth Hoskins and Austrian firm Delugan Meissl Associated Architects.
Kuma鈥檚 complex design was controversial because it was so difficult to build.
None of the structure鈥檚 external walls is straight, so the process of making and installing the 2,500 cast stone two-tonne panels had to be 鈥渕eticulously planned鈥�. To complicate matters further the 18.4m-high building juts out into the River Tay.
V&A director Tristram Hunt said: 鈥淭he opening of V&A Dundee this year will be a remarkable moment for Dundee, the V&A and the UK. The V&A was founded to champion British design, showcase the greatest works of creative ingenuity and enrich everyone鈥檚 imagination.
鈥淰&A Dundee will build on our deep connections to the story of Scottish design and its meaning for modern practitioners, sharing our collections and world-class exhibitions. This is a cultural milestone for Dundee and a new opportunity for the UK to show the world how art and design can educate and inspire.鈥�
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