V&A Museum Dundee
Architect: Kengo Kuma & Associates
Facade Design: Glass Solutions
Location: Dundee, Scotland
The new V&A Museum Dundee, which opened in January of 2019, is a stunning architectural addition to the River Tay waterfront revitalization program.
VS1 was used by Glass Solutions, a subsidiary of Saint Gobain, for seven facades on the museum's exterior. Due to the museum's location on the mouth of the River Tay, the walls were built to withstand large waves.
The V&A Museum was designed by Japanese Architect Kengo Kuma.
Kuma said of his design:
"The big idea for V&A Dundee was bringing together nature and architecture, to create a new living room for the city. I'm truly in love with the Scottish landscape and nature. I was inspired by the cliffs of northeastern Scotland – it's as if the earth and water had a long conversation and finally created this stunning shape."
VS1 was successfully used both to meet unique architectural aesthetic while also addressing structural requirements. From Glass Solutions, the installer:
"With a slatted, multi-layered external appearance, as well as its distinctive ‘prow’-shaped facade which juts out directly over the Tay, the complex geometry of V&A Dundee’s design presented a number of unique challenges for specifying and installing its component parts.... We overcame unique challenges of completing the installation to the south façade in close proximity to the river and we are delighted that our flagship VS-1 curtain wall system proved to be the perfect solution to meet both the wave load and aesthetic expectations of the contractor and architect."
