Amanda Levete Architects Chosen for V&A Exhibition Road Site

Amanda Levete Architects has won the V&A’s Exhibition Road competition and will go on to develop their team’s concept design as part of the FuturePlan strategy for the museum. The ALA scheme will transform the remaining undeveloped quadrant of the V&A’s London headquarters and create an exciting new relationship with Exhibition Road and the surrounding South Kensington area.

Malcolm Reading, the competition organizer, said, "ALA had a very good grasp of the intuitive use that visitors will make of the new space and its relationship to the forthcoming pedestrianization of Exhibition Road. [...] The folded-plate structure for the roof was felt to be a particularly strong element which would create a dramatic setting for temporary exhibitions. [...] The team had a very strong architectural language but this didn’t overpower the Victorian details of the surrounding buildings… they also came up with an inspired series of ideas for creating pattern in the paving that played on the rich decorative tradition of the museum." He added that the jury admired the exceptional standard of thinking and presentation shown by all the teams for a difficult and complex site.

Unusually the competition jury visited built projects by all of the seven shortlisted teams and also spent time at their offices; both experiences had a substantial impact on the jury’s subsequent deliberations. The V&A based their design competition on a feasibility study carried out by Arup which provided a common technical basis for the brief and allowed the client to fully explore a variety of architectural responses.

The other six finalists were Heneghan.peng.architects (Dublin), Jamie Fobert Architects (London), Jun Aoki & Associates (Tokyo), Michael Maltzan Architecture (MMA) (Los Angeles), Snøhetta (Oslo) & Hoskins (Glasgow), and Tony Fretton Architects (London).