V & A EXHIBITION ROAD PROJECT

A new purpose-built underground gallery, magnificent courtyard space and a new entrance from Exhibition Road on the west side of the Victoria and Albert Museum are part of a planned ?41 million redevelopment of the V & A, one of London’s most important cultural institutions. The scheme will transform a previously inaccessible back-of-house space into an open courtyard for installations, events and a cafe, revising the existing screen by Sir Aston Webb – “the most controversial part of the plan” (Financial Times) – the man who designed the museum’s main building in 1891. The project will also reveal the beautiful Victorian facades on the west side of the V&A’s Grade 1 listed buildings which have been restored but never on public view before. Amanda Levete Architects, AL_A, won the international competition to design the project. Levete who won the Stirling Prize while at Future Systems and has designed stand-out projects such as the Selfridges department store in Birmingham and the media centre at Lord’s Cricket Ground. Work will begin in autumn 2012 to divert services within the site and building work is planned to start in 2013, aiming for completion by the end of 2015 with a planned opening to the public in 2016.