Architecture

Rooms 127 – 128a

As the home of the national collection of architecture, the V&A holds monumental plaster casts, large-scale architectural fragments and entire historic rooms, as well as models, drawings and sketchbooks by major British and international architects from the 15th century to the present day.

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Architectural drawings and fragments of buildings were collected by the Museum from its earliest days, but it was only in 2014 that a department responsible for architecture was established. In the Architecture Gallery, co-curated with the Royal Institute of British Architects as part of the V&A+RIBA Architecture Partnership, you can explore the history of architecture, styles, materials and building types. Next door, in the Architecture Display Gallery, you can visit changing displays of historic and contemporary drawings chosen from the rich collections of the V&A and the RIBA on a variety of topical themes.

Where to find this collection

Rooms 127 – 128a
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Adelphi ceiling, designed by Robert Adam, made by David Adamson, about 1771, England

Wallpaper and tile design for Houses of Parliament, designed by A. W. Pugin, 1908, London, England

The Apotheosis of Henry VIII, drawing, probably designed and drawn by Robert Pyte, about 1546, London, England

print — Print from 'Diverse maniere d'adornare i cammini…’ depicting a design for an Egyptian chimneypiece by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, published 1769, Rome, Italy

architectural design — Architectural drawing for the north or entrance front of Castle Howard, by Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor, about 1699, England

wall tile — Julie Tile for A House for Essex, designed by Grayson Perry and FAT Architecture, manufactured by Shaws of Darwen, 2015, UK

Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur: ochre towers with blue sky, architectural print, by César Pelli, printed by Nash Editions, 1998

architectural model — Architectural model of Robin Hood Gardens, Poplar, London, by Alison and Peter Smithson, commissioned by Jeremy Dixon, 1970

Sir Paul Pindar's House, house front, about 1600, London, England

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