steven holl: V&A at dundee shortlisted design

design proposal of ‘V&A at dundee’ by steven holl architects all images courtesy steven holl architects and V&A at dundee

steven holl architects is one of the six shortlisted teams for the international design competition of a new cultural and design center in scotland, ‘V&A at dundee‘. organized by london’s victoria and albert museum, abertay and dudee universities, dundee city council and scottish enterprise, the winning design is planned to open in 2014.

aiming to restore and regenerate the earl grey harbour as the foreground to the new museum, steven holl’s design proposal includes a new landscape and water public space that can seamlessly integrate the new center to the city of dundee. the structure, which rises out of the river tay, reflects the royal arch in dundee, a monumental gate built in 1853, with a vertical hight equal to the original gate.  during the night, the building is lit by a system of automated lights which becomes a measure of time by the sequence in which it shimmers.

the museum next to the ‘RSS discovery’   a wide bridge connects the shore promenade to the museum’s open portal which overlooks the river tay. the vertically open main hall leads the visitors up to the loft-like galleries, studios, and exhibition spaces. glass-walled elevators located in the center of the museum and open stair circuit provide clear orientation and connectivity between the various levels of galleries and design activities. by dividing and organizing the various programs along this vertical circuit, galleries can be maintaine without interrupting the public flow. the free circulation also offers the visitor choice and unexpected discoveries.

view from union street

the new museum’s sail-shaped geometry features a floating translucent skin of fine, stainless steel mesh. not only does this material provide a windshielding effect, it diffues direct sunlight by serving as a semi-transparent membrane over openings to the galleries. at night, this screen has the capability to glow with reflected light.

the V&A on the water

the design features three ‘floating landscapes’. at the river level, the first is a green platform with a cafe that rises and descends with the moving tide. the second is along the entry, where a landscape of local vegetation floats above a utility space for museum receiving and storage. the third is in the restored earl grey harbour where a floating park bring the public to water leve. all three ‘floating landscapes’ aims to provide visitors with an intimate connection to the river.

site plan

north elevation

longitudinal section

cross section

(left) watercolour rendering of lobby (right) loft-like galleries

floor plan / level -1

floor plan / level 0

floor plan / level 1

floor plan / level 2

floor plan / level 3

floor plan / level 4

floor plan / level 5

floor plan / level 6

the other shortlisted firms are REX, kengo kuma, delugan meissl, snøhetta, and sutherland hussey.

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the university of abertay dundee is currently hosting ‘V&A at dundee – making it happen’ which will exhibit all six shortlisted designs in drawings and models. the public is invited to give their input and opinions of the designs until the 4th of november, 2010. the winner will be announced in early november with the final building planned to open in 2014.