V&A Dundee
Ross McDowell / Tartan Compass
On Dundee's waterfront, the V&A rises beside the River Tay, its striking concrete forms inspired by Scotland's coastal cliffs. It is a building that asks to be viewed from more than one angle.
Designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and opened in 2018, V&A Dundee is Scotland's first dedicated design museum. It stands on a waterfront transformed since the city's industrial and maritime heyday. Dundee has long been associated with making things, from textiles and shipbuilding to printing and newer technologies. The museum gives that history a contemporary setting: design now has a conspicuous home on the waterfront of a city whose fortunes have often depended on making and innovation.
Around 2,500 projecting precast panels give the exterior its layered appearance. Their shadows change with the light, altering the building's texture through the day. The two main forms meet above an opening towards the river. As the viewing angle changes, so does the apparent shape of the building, with the Tay remaining close at hand.
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