Victoria & Albert Museum | Kensington, London 2006

In summer 2006 Moxon were shortlisted to design the new Contemporary Gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington, London. Working in conjunction with COWI (Engineers) and Speirs and Major (Lighting Designers) the proposal is a sleek insertion into an existing gallery immediately adjacent to the V&A main entrance.

The brief called for a sealed box that could house changing exhibitions of contemporary design whilst also providing an exciting spectacle from various vantage points in the museum.

The design has a crafted and tailored internal black roof, modelled to accommodate high-level views across the gallery space. The highly reflective, undulating surface sets up a dialogue between the rich details of the existing Victorian architecture and the smooth, sensuous and shiny geometry of the new addition.

Entry to the gallery is through a new volumetric lobby, comprised of offset layers of translucent polycarbonate. These act as a series of back-projection screens for graphics and moving images that change with each exhibition.