The Last Word

Clad in more than 11,000 porcelain tiles, the new Sackler courtyard of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London is a bright and contemporary vision that also references the museum’s extensive ceramics collection. It is part of the Exhibition Road quarter, which includes a spacious subterranean gallery, and a new entrance for the applied arts and design museum. Designed by Stirling Prize-winning architect Amanda Levete and her team at AL_A, the new wing celebrates its provenance by revealing intriguing facets of the original structure, such as the previously hidden facades of the Victorian- and Edwardian-style building, and other architectural details. In contrast to Daniel Libeskind’s sensational Spiral proposal in 2004, AL_A has taken a more minimalist approach by bringing exhibition space underground while connecting the museum to the street level. As Levete puts it, “this isn’t just about a gallery—it’s an opportunity to create a new public space for London.”