23 August 2011
V&A at Dundee project wins architecture award
Kengo Kuma's design for the V&A at Dundee building has received a prestigious award from leading architecture journal World Architecture News.
The V&A at Dundee project beat off competition from five other shortlisted projects from around the world to be named as best 'Unbuilt' project in WAN’s 2011 Awards Civic Buildings sector.
The judges said the design was a classic example of architecture that goes beyond the brief. They also talked of how the structure will have a significant impact on its surrounding community in terms of both aesthetics and function, bringing reams of tourists to the city’s stunning waterfront, creating employment, and introducing a new cultural venue on the River Tay.
Philip Long, Director of V&A at Dundee, expressed his delight at the design being chosen for the WAN award, saying, 'Our congratulations to Kengo Kuma on winning this award for such an outstanding design, even before its construction has begun!
'V&A at Dundee's vision is to be an international centre for design, and we are delighted that the building Kengo Kuma is creating for us is in itself an expression of design of the highest quality.'
Kengo Kuma's design for the V&A at Dundee was chosen after an international design competition which attracted more than 120 entries from around the world. The WAN award demonstrates the significant global impact that the project is already having.
The judging panel, which comprised international architects and critics, were immediately drawn to the design. They identified the winning factor as being the architect's sensitive handling of the site and context. Each of the jurors individually stated how easily the inventive design slotted into its waterside location.
One of the panel, Hannah Lawson of John McAslan + Partners, said, 'There are some quite compelling narratives about the landscape with the twisting and turning, in line with the landscape and the harbour.
'The idea of it opening up and carving up the public realm, but then also at the upper layers of the 3-dimensional experience of what is an incredible setting. I think it weaves itself with the water as well at the ground plain, it’s not just a building that sits on the harbour but it somehow appears to sit within it and within the land as well.'
More information about the award can be found at the World Architecture News website.
The V&A at Dundee is being delivered by Design Dundee Ltd, a ground-breaking partnership between the Victoria and Albert Museum - the world’s greatest museum of art and design - and Dundee City Council, the Universities of Dundee and Abertay Dundee, and Scottish Enterprise.
Design Dundee Ltd is aiming to create a landmark building, which will be sited at Craig Harbour right on the banks of the River Tay. The site is being made available through the Dundee Central Waterfront Partnership, the joint venture between Dundee City Council and Scottish Enterprise which is revitalising the prime area of land linking the city centre with the River Tay.
The building will create a world-class public space that celebrates the creative culture of design, the evolution of design, its role in our lives, its economic impact and its commercial relevance.
For more on the V&A at Dundee see: www.VandAatDundee.com.
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
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