The highly sculptural V&A Museum of Design Dundee is Japanese architect Kengo Kuma’s first UK building – as well as Scotland’s very first dedicated design museum. The new structure is now complete and gearing up to throw open its doors to the public on 15 September.
North Eastern Scotland’s ragged cliffs inspired the complex’s distinct shapes, which feature exterior cladding of layered horizontal cast-stone panels – there are some 2,500 sheets involved. At the same time, the concrete structure appears light, bearing an abstract resemblance to the prow of a ship, moored on the riverbank; it is no wonder the project was awarded Best Facade at the 2018 Wallpaper* Design Awards.
Kuma wanted the building to welcome visitors with a strong design gesture. Located on the city’s waterfront, overlooking the River Tay, the new, three-storey high structure will also include a café, restaurant and learning facilities. The museum's programme, which will be freely open to all, will include the best of Scottish design from all periods displayed via permanent and temporary shows, and a variety of education programmes.
V&A Dundee will welcome the public through its doors for the very first time with a two-day long festival – the last month countdown has now began. Legendary Scottish band Primal Scream will appear in a specially commissioned new collaboration with Turner Prize-winning Scottish artist Jim Lambie. Light, sound and architecture will come together to celebrate the launch of Kuma's striking contribution to Dundee.
The opening will mark the V&A's first new building outside London.
The striking facade is made of cast stone panels
V&A Dundee sits on the city’s waterfront, overlooking the River Tay
A two-day festival with workshops and performances will celebrate the museum's launch.
INFORMATION
For more information visit the website of Kengo Kuma & Associates
-
Doc’n Roll Festival returns with a new season of underground music filmsNow in its twelfth year, the grassroots festival continues to platform subcultural stories and independent filmmakers outside the mainstream
-
Commune Design’s new rug collection is a psychedelic tripThe Los Angeles-based company worked with Christopher Farr on its groovy rug collection inspired by 1960s and 1970s Northern California
-
The Hart Marylebone marks the next chapter in London’s design-led pubsThe trio behind The Pelican and The Hero turn to Marylebone, fusing Victoriana, intimacy and culinary honesty in their most ambitious project yet
-
The Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s houses of the monthThis September, Wallpaper highlighted a striking mix of architecture – from iconic modernist homes newly up for sale to the dramatic transformation of a crumbling Scottish cottage. These are the projects that caught our eye
-
Utopian, modular, futuristic: was Japanese Metabolism architecture's raddest movement?We take a deep dive into Japanese Metabolism, the pioneering and relatively short-lived 20th-century architecture movement with a worldwide impact; explore our ultimate guide
-
A beautifully crafted concrete family house in a Mexican suburb is a contemplative oasisHW Studio have shaped a private house from raw concrete, eschewing Brutalist forms in favour of soft light, enclosed spaces and delicate geometries
-
A new Tadao Ando monograph unveils the creative process guiding the architect's practiceNew monograph ‘Tadao Ando. Sketches, Drawings, and Architecture’ by Taschen charts decades of creative work by the Japanese modernist master
-
A Tokyo home’s mysterious, brutalist façade hides a secret urban retreatDesigned by Apollo Architects, Tokyo home Stealth House evokes the feeling of a secluded resort, packaged up neatly into a private residence
-
Landscape architect Taichi Saito: ‘I hope to create gentle landscapes that allow people’s hearts to feel at ease’We meet Taichi Saito and his 'gentle' landscapes, as the Japanese designer discusses his desire for a 'deep and meaningful' connection between humans and the natural world
-
Campaigners propose reuse to save Kenzo Tange’s modernist ‘Ship Gymnasium’ in JapanThe Pritzker Prize-winning architect’s former Kagawa Prefectural Gymnasium is at risk of demolition; we caught up with the campaigners who hope to save it
-
A new photo book explores the symbolic beauty of the Japanese garden‘Modern Japanese Gardens’ from Thames & Hudson traces the 20th-century evolution of these serene spaces, where every element has a purpose
