V&A marks new era with architectural innovation on Exhibition Road

V&A marks new era with architectural innovation on Exhibition Road

The V&A Exhibition Road Quarter
The V&A Exhibition Road Quarter is the museum's largest architectural intervention to date V&A/®Hufton+Crow
There's plenty of energy at the V&A Exhibition Road Quarter, as a beautiful new civic space with a world-class gallery is unveiled to mark the museum's aspiration to expand its domestic and international audiences.

The project is the V&A’s largest architectural intervention in over a century. It provides a 21st- century interpretation of the museum’s founding principles: to make works of art and design available to all; to educate; and to inspire designers and manufacturers. 

£48million six-year project

Taking six years to complete and supported with a £4.9m National Lottery grant, the V&A Exhibition Road Quarter project has enabled the transformation of the museum’s former boilerhouse yard on London’s great cultural artery, Exhibition Road. This entrance connects the museum with its neighbours, such as the Science Museum, and creates a sequence of major new spaces:

  • The Sainsbury Gallery, a flexible, 1,100m2 exhibition gallery and purpose-built space for temporary exhibitions
  • The Sackler Courtyard, the world’s first porcelain public courtyard, paved in 11,000 handmade tiles that were inspired by the long tradition of ceramics at the V&A
  • The Blavatnik Hall, a new entrance into the V&A from Exhibition Road
  • The Aston Webb Screen through which visitors can now enter the V&A from the street

[quote=Tristam Hunt, Director of the V&A]“With its mix of ingenuity and imagination, the V&A has always been a meeting point for historicism and modernity."[/quote]

Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A said: “With its mix of ingenuity and imagination, the V&A has always been a meeting point for historicism and modernity. The V&A Exhibition Road Quarter bridges the two by offering fresh insights into our historic building with pioneering new architecture and creating London's leading exhibition space.”

Happy 165th anniversary!

The V&A turns 165 over the summer and this major project is a fitting way to mark an exciting moment of its evolution, just a year after winning the Art Fund Museum of the Year 2016.

All is REVEALED

To celebrate the opening of the V&A Exhibition Road Quarter, a free festival – REVEAL - will take place from Friday 30 June until Saturday 7 July. 

A mixture of art, performance, fashion and family activities, the festival will bring the architecture and collections to life.

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