In the economic age of “new sobriety,” architecture can be freed from the struggle between form and function by emphasizing performance instead—a hybrid that doesn’t discriminate between program, organization, and form. The measure of performance is relative to each project’s constraints and aspirations. The V&A at Dundee’s vision exacts sophisticated demands: it must serve as a key driver in Dundee’s new Central Waterfront Masterplan, inhabit a challenging site, embody best sustainable practices, adhere strictly to budget, and most importantly, exhibit and incubate design. By eschewing convention and doggedly searching for responses specific to these particular demands, an unexpected and iconographic building will emerge that is the embodiment of performance, not a symbol of excess.
In the spirit of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark, fissures in the Hub-and-Spoke organization provide moments of repose with views to the River Tay and City of Dundee, as well as spaces adjacent to the galleries for the display of less sensitive works, educational gatherings, or movable retail points.
- VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM AT DUNDEE
- Dundee, Scotland
- CLIENT V&A at Dundee
- PROGRAM National Design Centre located in the River Tay, including V&A galleries, design incubator, event space, restaurant, cafe, wine bar, art handling and storage facilities, offices, and retail
- AREA 6.695 m² (72,060 sf)
- CONSTRUCTION COST £32.55 million ($51.54 million)
- STATUS Limited competition, submitted 2010
- ARCHITECT REX
VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM AT DUNDEEDundee, Scotland
CLIENT V&A at DundeePROGRAM National Design Centre located in the River Tay, including V&A galleries, design incubator, event space, restaurant, cafe, wine bar, art handling and storage facilities, offices, and retailAREA 6.695 m² (72,060 sf)CONSTRUCTION COST £32.55 million ($51.54 million)STATUS Limited competition, submitted 2010ARCHITECT REX
via REX – Architecture PC.
