Best Façade

V&A Museum of Design, Dundee, by Kengo Kuma & Associates

- Caroline Ednie

Kengo Kuma’s new V&A Museum of Design recently reached a defining moment in what are the final stages of its construction on Dundee’s waterfront. The removal of the temporary cofferdam, which enabled the building to be anchored into the bedrock of the River Tay, has finally revealed the full drama of the landmark project, which sports a striking façade inspired by the craggy cliff formations of Scotland’s east coast.

Due to open in 2018, the £80m V&A Dundee will be Scotland’s first dedicated design museum, and the only V&A museum outside London. The project will also be the first building in the UK designed by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, who this year has otherwise been busy working on Tokyo’s National Stadium, the centrepiece of the 2020 Olympics.