There are a lot of people on the team tasked with reinventing the V&A Museum of Childhood. We need a wide group of museum professionals invested in the project who have different types of expertise. We need to make sure the objects look their best and are cared for throughout the process. We also need to ensure we create a fun, design-led learning programme for all our visitors, and make sure essential Museum requirements like security and management of the building are fed into the developing design (to name just a few)!
We are also working with a lot of designers. You may have seen some images in the central hall or in articles online of our new Kaleidoscope staircase and landscape. Our base build architects, de Matos Ryan, are working with a team of specialists to improve the infrastructure, or what we call ‘shell and core’ of the museum. We need all of these changes to be designed first so we can provide an essential starting point for how the museum looks and feels. This work will ensure the future building is structurally stable, sounds better, feels warmer in winter and less hot in summer. The changes will help the museum be even more accessible for all our visitors, who have lots of different needs for a great experience.