The Exhibition Road Quarter, designed by AL_A, is the largest construction project undertaken by the V&A since its main buildings in South Kensington were completed in 1909 under the direction of Sir Aston Webb. The project has transformed the former boiler house yard on London’s great cultural artery, Exhibition Road, to create a sequence of major new spaces that will redefine the V&A’s relationship with the street and the public:
– The Sainsbury Gallery: a hyper-flexible, 1,100m2 column-free exhibition gallery that provides the V&A for the first time with a purpose-built space for its world-leading programme of temporary exhibitions
– The Sackler Courtyard: the world’s first porcelain public courtyard, paved in 11,000 handmade tiles that were inspired by the rich tradition of ceramics at the V&A
– The Blavatnik Hall: a new entrance into the V&A that will transform how visitors experience and discover the Museum and its collections
The project has redeveloped 2,200m2 of underused space to provide 6,400m2 of new space for the V&A in its already densely occupied South Kensington home.