FuturePlan: the Exhibition Road building project

The V&A is pleased to announce that it has been granted planning permission from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) for the Exhibition Road Building Project.

The new courtyard and entrance on Exhibition Road

The Exhibition Road Building Project will create a new purpose-built underground gallery for the V&A’s internationally renowned programme of temporary exhibitions, a magnificent publicly-accessible courtyard space and a new entrance from Exhibition Road on the west side of the museum. This scheme is being designed by Amanda Levete Architects (AL_A), who won the international competition to design the project in March 2011.

The scheme is fundamental for the V&A to continue to fulfil its core mission of bringing in new audiences and to further establish Exhibition Road as an international cultural destination. Enabling work will begin this autumn to divert services within the site and building work is planned to start in 2013 and complete by the end of 2015, opening to the public in 2016.

Inside the new gallery

The new entrance into the V&A

Ascending into the new courtyard

The descent into the gallery space

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The Exhibition Road building project design competition, March 2011

Amanda Levete Architects (AL_A) were one of seven shortlisted architectural teams, selected from over 110 expressions of interest from all over the world for the new courtyard, entrance and exhibition galleries competition.

On winning the competition, Amanda Levete said:

'The V&A is a hugely prestigious museum and it has special meaning for me because it's the home of art and architecture. I've dreamt of working on a major public and cultural project ever since I started as an architect, and it doesn't get much better than this. This isn't just about a gallery, it's an opportunity to create a new public space for London - South Kensington's Drawing Room. The pattern of the courtyard derives from the structure and the richness of the V&A's collection, and continues the didactic tradition of the V&A buildings. AL_A is a young office - we've only been established for two years - and for us this is a defining project because it expresses the way we think - for the V&A we've made the invisible visible.'

Paul Ruddock, Chairman of the V&A Board of Trustees, said:

'The Exhibition Road project is an essential development for the future of the V&A. The V&A produces the very best international design exhibitions and the existing exhibition courts, arranged over three separate rooms, are no longer fit for purpose. This new development will transform the way the V&A is able to present its major exhibitions and will enable us to reveal and restore the magnificent south courts. AL_A's proposal will create a wonderful new space that cleverly combines the elegance of the V&A's Grade I listed buildings with contemporary design. They are a worthy winner.'

The competition shortlist

Select an image below to discover more about the competition entries

Amanda Levete Architects - Winner

London based, award winning architects with a reputation for originality. Current projects such as the Naples Subway demonstrate their ability to design within the constraints of a highly complex underground site. Levete founded Amanda Levete Architects following a 20 year partnership with the late Jan Kaplicky at the highly influential Future Systems practice.

Heneghan.peng.architects

Heneghan.peng work at a range of scales from domestic to landscape and urban masterplans. Founded in 1999 in New York, the practice relocated to Dublin in 2001. The practice has a history of producing competition-winning designs, including the Grand Museum of Egypt in Giza, a pedestrian bridge for the Olympic Park in London and the School of Architecture at the University of Greenwich.

Jamie Fobert Architects

Jamie Fobert Architects has experience of gallery projects creating extensions for both Tate St. Ives and Kettle's Yard in Cambridge. The practice works within historic environments and has won a competition to design Charleston Barns with Julian Harrap Architects. The practice, based in London, was established in 1996 and has completed projects across residential, commercial and cultural sectors.

Jun Aoki & Associates

Based in Tokyo, the award winning Jun Aoki Associates was established in 1991. The practice mainly works in Japan. Recent projects include the Aomori Museum of Art, in Aomori and the wedding chapel, 'White Chapel' in Osaka. The practice works across the residential, retail and cultural sectors.

Michael Maltzan Architecture (MMA)

Founded in 1995 by Michael Maltzan, MMA is an architecture, landscape and urban design practice based in Los Angeles. The practice works across sectors from cultural, educational to retail and masterplanning projects, and has won numerous awards in the U.S. Recent projects include The Playa Vista Central Park in Los Angeles and the temporary home for MOMA in Queens.

Snøhetta & Hoskins

Snøhetta has teamed up with Gareth Hoskins Architects for its submission. Snøhetta has a track record of delivering world class arts and cultural buildings, including the Oslo Opera House. Snøhetta was established in 1989 after winning the international design competition for the Alexandria Library in Egypt and is based in Oslo. Gareth Hoskins Architects is an award winning practice based in Glasgow and has developed a reputation for innovative public projects. Many of their projects involve the redevelopment of sensitive, often historically important listed buildings, including projects for the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Tony Fretton Architects

Tony Fretton Architects was founded in 1982 and is now headed by directors Tony Fretton and Jim McKinney. Based in London, the award winning practice has established an international reputation for creating arts spaces including the Lisson Gallery, London. Their most significant project to date, the Fuglsang Kunstmuseum, was short-listed for the Sterling Prize 2009.