We look forward to the opening of V&A Dundee in September and explore what else is on o#er for visitors to the city it calls home
As V&A Dundee prepares to open its doors, Mary Jane Baxter discovers what we can expect from this new institution, and why the city it calls home is a hot destination for design mavens
The letters ‘ V& A’ conjure up wondrous images for many of us: leafy South Kensington; stunning Victorian architecture; worldclass examples of art and design; an ‘ace ca "’ (to quote the ’80s slogan). But, from September, a new image will appear in our mind’s eye: the Dundee harbour. The only permanent V& A museum in the world outside London is about to open in Scotland, and it’s as inextricably linked to its city as the original. Designed by the acclaimed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, the striking building resembles a majestic modernist ocean liner, moored on the River Tay.
The museum is the focal point of a multimillion-pound transformation of Dundee’s waterfront, which once acted as the seafaring gateway to the world’s trade routes. As Scotland’s # rst dedicated design museum, it will host international touring exhibitions from the V& A in London, while housing a permanent collection of hundreds of historically signi #cant objects.
A ‘Schoolroom for Everyone’
The V& A’s # rst director, Henry Cole, announced that the then newly conceived institution, (which emerged from the Great Exhibition of 1851) should be a ‘schoolroom for everyone’. Since then, the museum’s stated mission has evolved beyond education with the aim of ‘enriching people’s lives’ by promoting ‘the designed world to the widest possible audience’.
In recent years, the V& A has been reaching out in unprecedented ways, with ongoing collaborative projects both in the UK (the V& A East development at the former Olympic Park in London, for example) and abroad (V& A Gallery at Design Society, Shenzhen in China). Indeed, part of the museum’s pledge is to matter to more people’. But why Dundee for its first permanent sister museum?
‘I often say the city chose the V& A, not the other way around!’ says V& A Dundee Director Philip Long. ‘ The V& A and the University of Dundee have had a close relationship for many years, largely due to the university’s wonderful College of Art and Design. V& A Dundee is the
result of a shared conversation about a new cultural hub here that started back in 2007. The then V& A Director, Sir Mark Jones, recognised the need to work across the UK more widely. What you see today is the remarkable conclusion of that initial idea.’
V& A Dundee is indeed remarkable. It has cost more than £ 80m – almost double the original price tag – with funding coming from a variety of sources including the Scottish and UK Governments, the Heritage Lottery Fund, Waterfront Dundee, Creative Scotland and Dundee City Council. As you might expect from such investment in a design museum, the "rst thing that will strike most visitors is the architecture.
Ship Shape
Maurizio Mucciola is the Project Architect for V& A Dundee, and has been working alongside Kengo Kuma, who won the competition to design the museum in 2010. Maurizio reveals that Kengo was fascinated by the Scottish landscape and the way it has been carved over time by the elements. ‘ During our research we looked closely at the local cli #s,’ says Maurizio. ‘ They’re shaped by the water, and there’s a demonstrable relationship in Dundee between the land, the River Tay and the city itself. We wanted to work with that relationship and create a dialogue between V& A Dundee and the RRS Discovery next to it. The Discovery is very important to the history of Dundee and, of course, there are echoes of the city’s shipbuilding past in the shape of the museum building itself.’
V& A Dundee’s inaugural exhibition, ‘Ocean Liners: Speed and Style’ (15th September 2018-24th February 2019), is the perfect "t for a building that is so closely tied to the water. Transferring directly from the V& A in London, the exhibition recreates the golden age of ocean travel and explores Scotland’s important role in the design and development of these magni "cent $oating cities. The exhibition gallery – the largest of its type in Scotland – will showcase more than 250 objects from both public and private collections
‘We wanted to create a dialogue between V&A Dundee and the RRS Discovery next to it.’
to reveal how ocean liners became one of the most powerful and admired symbols of 20th- century modernity.
The Story of Scottish Design
No ma!er how spectacular the touring exhibitions, it is the permanent Sco!ish Design Galleries that are the real focal point of V& A Dundee. Based on the upper "oor, the 550 sq m space is split into three sections, each highlighting a di #erent facet of Sco!ish design and illustrating how the country’s history, politics and geography have helped it achieve international impact. The majority of the objects on display come from the worldrenowned V& A collections and have never been shown in Scotland before. Others are on loan from Sco!ish galleries, museums and designers.
‘ The story of design in Scotland has never been fully interrogated or recognised and V& A Dundee provides us with an incredible opportunity to do that,’ says Sophie McKinlay, Director of Programme for the new museum. Sophie has worked across every aspect of V& A Dundee’s development, including its representation of Sco!ish design. ‘ We carried out an initial assessment of around 12,000 objects that classify as Sco!ish design and found some absolute treasures, many with
hidden tales to tell. We wanted to explore every aspect of design, from textiles, jewellery and cra $ to furniture, architecture, engineering and computer game technology.’
At the heart of the permanent collection stands Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Oak Room – the visuals for which are being kept under wraps until the launch. Originally designed for Miss Cranston’s Ingram Street Tea Rooms in Glasgow, it has been in storage since it was salvaged almost 50 years ago. The two-storey structure has been carefully reconstructed.
‘It was like completing an incredibly complex 800-piece life-sized jigsaw,’ says Sophie, ‘and it’s one of my favourite exhibits. Every nuance of the interior has been recognised so that the original ! xtures and !#ings blend seamlessly with the reconstructed elements. It’s a testament to the painstaking work of the team and, of course, it’s taken on added pathos given the second devastating ! re at the Mackintoshdesigned Glasgow School of Art in June.’
Maurizio Mucciola hopes that V& A Dundee will also be a place where people feel very much at home. ‘I believe everyone will come to feel real pride and a "ection for this unique building,’ he says, ‘not just as an exhibition space but as a real public space. A place where people can meet, have a co"ee and see their friends. The idea of a living room in the heart of the city.’
It is clear that Dundee, a city of around 150,000 people, is about to ! nd itself ! rmly back on the world stage. The Industrial Revolution helped to transform its fortunes during the 19th century. Now, a revolution is afoot to turn the tide, not only for Dundee, but also for the neglected story of
Sco#ish design.
V&A Dundee opens on 15th September vandadundee.org
Mary Jane travelled direct to Dundee from London Kings Cross with London North Eastern Railway (lner. co.uk). Dundee station is conveniently located across the road from the museum.