V&A TRANSFORMED

London’s Victoria & Albert museum is now home to a new, futuristic design destination. Described by the V&A’S new director Tristram Hunt as ‘a hugely exciting moment... our largest architectural intervention in the last 100 years’, the Exhibition Road Quarter is a modern addition to one of the capital’s most loved museums. Designed by Stirling Prizewinning British architect Amanda Levete and her practice AL_A (ala.uk.com), the complex on the western wing features exceptional spaces.

The Sackler Courtyard (above) – the first porcelain-tiled public courtyard in the country – will offer intimate pop-up performances throughout the year. Below it sits the underground Sainsbury Gallery, a 1,100 metresquared column-free exhibition hall – purpose-built for temporary exhibitions – which will allow artists to exhibit work in an open, free and flexible environment. In addition to the new spaces, many of the museum’s existing period features have been restored, including the original 1909 entrance arches (above right) designed by Victorian architect Sir Aston Webb, the creator of Buckingham Palace’s iconic facade (vam.ac.uk).