The courtyard on Egzibition Road was originally intended to house a museum boiler house, so it is fenced off from the city by a "screen", which will now take the form of a permeable colonnade. This is relevant because the Egzibition Road itself is planned to be closed for transport and turned into a public space, thereby the museum will be directly connected with this recreational area.
The courtyard itself will also become a public space, a “living room” for the townspeople, as Leavit herself calls it: its pavement should resemble a carpet. Various cultural events will be held there, and, most importantly, Londoners will be able to relax or sit in a cafe there.
A temporary exhibition hall (1500 m2) will appear under the surface of the courtyard: V&A constantly holds large-scale "blockbusters" expositions, but there is not enough space for them. An important task for the architect was to “reveal” on the surface of this hidden space, while it was important to take into account the historical environment - the museum complex. The way out was the "folded" structure of the ceilings of the underground hall.
The £ 35m project is slated for completion in 2015. It is part of the Victoria and Albert Museum's extensive Future Plan program, which includes, among other things, the opening of new costume history rooms in May 2012, furniture in November 2012, and a textile and fashion center. in the current Blythe House Museum Depository.
Jamie Fobert Architects, Tony Fretton, heneghan.peng.architects, Snohatta (with Scots Gareth Hoskins Architects), Jun Aoki & Associates and Michael Maltzan Architecture also participated in the final of the competition: we published their designs earlier this month.
