V&A Dundee. Photographed by Ross Fraser McLean
Opening on 15 September 2018, V&A Dundee will be the only V&A museum in the world outside London. It will be the first ever dedicated design museum in Scotland: an international centre for design, a place of inspiration, discovery and learning.
Visitors will experience the remarkable story of design past, present and future and the vital contribution design makes to all our lives. The museum will feature permanent displays, changing exhibitions showcasing the very best of design from around the world, new design commissions and fast-changing installations by emerging designers, alongside creative learning projects for everyone to get involved with.
Designed by internationally acclaimed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, V&A Dundee stands at the centre of the £1 billion transformation of the Dundee waterfront, once part of the city’s docklands. With its complex geometry, inspired by the dramatic cliffs along the east coast of Scotland, it stretches out into the River Tay – a new landmark reconnecting the city with its historic waterfront, and a major new cultural development for Scotland and the UK.
The new museum enables V&A’s most ambitious exhibitions to be shared more widely across the UK. The opening exhibition Ocean Liners: Speed & Style, supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and investment managers Baillie Gifford, will explore the designs behind a mode of transport that came to represent the status of nations and the aspirations of millions. The show, organised by the V&A and the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, is the first to explore the design and cultural impact of the ocean liner on an international scale. It will re-imagine the golden age of ocean travel and explore all aspects of ship design from the remarkable engineering, architecture and interiors to the opulent fashion and lifestyle on board. Further exhibition announcements will be made ahead of the museum’s opening.
High-quality facilities include an atmospheric 80-cover restaurant, an outdoor terrace with stunning views across the River Tay, a relaxed café bar, guided tours and a shop selling the best of Scottish and international design.
Dundee, named by GQ magazine, ‘Britain’s coolest little city’ has been ranked one of the ‘10 hot destinations’ for 2018 by The Wall Street Journal.
For more information check out the web set at www.vandadundee.org/
Dundee is just over an hour’s drive from any of Cooper Cottages self-catering holiday cottages and a visit to the V & A, when it opens later in the year, will provide a great family day out while staying in our area of central Scotland.
