Kengo Kuma hails ‘beautiful’ Dundee V&A as ‘most important project’

Japanese architect Kengo Kuma has welcomed the “beautiful” progress on the V&A Museum of Design Dundee as he made his first visit to the construction site since work began.

Marking a year from the start of work on the £80.1 million project, Kuma led a walk-through of the building which now has its full footprint in place.

Examining work on the museum’s dramatic curved inner walls, which he praised as “beautiful”, Kuma said: “This project is probably my most important because the V&A museum is one of the most important museums in the world.”

Mr Kuma declared that “great progress” was being made with the building, which is due for completion by the end of next year ahead of a planned public opening in June 2018.

The architect also hailed the wider £1 billion transformation of Dundee’s waterfront, saying that the completed project’s relationship with the River Tay will be equally as impressive as its relationship with the landscape.

Kuma said: “We are delighted that our vision for the V&A Dundee building, which was originally inspired by the beautiful River Tay setting, is now starting to take physical shape. Great progress is being made with the construction and already you can see the connection between the waterfront and the city is so much stronger.

“I am very proud to be part of this exciting development for the city of Dundee and Scotland and to be creating a museum that will inspire people to visit from the UK and beyond.”

Key construction milestones achieved since work began in April 2015 include the completion of a coffer dam which enabled the foundation construction for the part of the building that will sit out over the Tay, groundworks on the former reclaimed dock site, piling for the ground source heating system and remodelling of the river wall.

This year’s programme involves construction of the core inner walls, stairwell and lift cores and the outer double curvature walls of the building.

It will take the remainder of this year to take the building up to its roof height.

In 2017, pre-cast panels will be installed to the exterior to give the building its unique slatted, multi-layered appearance.

Representatives from Dundee City Council and BAM Construction accompanied Kengo Kuma on the tour of the site.

BAM’s construction manager, Malcolm Boyd, said: “We are relishing meeting the unique technical and construction challenges and working with all our partners to deliver a building that will inspire Dundonians and attract worldwide recognition.”

First announced in 2007, the construction costs have almost doubled from its initial £45m projection.

Fundraising efforts have been boosted dramatically in the last few weeks with ministers in Holyrood and Westminster confirming backing worth £20m and £5m respectively.

Philip Long, director, V&A Museum of Design Dundee, insists the “flagship museum” will show people the power of design to change lives.

He said: “V&A Dundee will be Scotland’s first museum dedicated to design, telling the inspirational story of Scotland’s design heritage and bringing the most important international exhibitions from the V&A to Scotland. The building itself will be part of that story, an inspiring place to visit and enjoy. It is hugely exciting to see it develop day by day as we start to realise Kengo Kuma’s remarkable design.”

The Lord Provost Bob Duncan added: “People can see from the outside that something really special is beginning to take shape on this site. I am delighted that Kengo Kuma can see how much has been achieved here in the space of a year. We are delighted with the attention that this project is focusing on our city.

“The aspirational V&A Dundee project is designed to provide Dundee and Scotland with a world-class museum, which will help to provide jobs and wider economic benefits.”