V&A renames childhood museum as part of £13m redevelopment
Construction work has begun on a £13m redevelopment project which will look to transform the V&A Museum of Childhood into the UK’s "premier national museum" entirely dedicated to children.
Designed by De Matos Ryan and AOC Architecture, the revamp of the iconic Grade II* listed site in Bethnal Green, London, UK will provide the museum with an entirely new visitor experience.
Plans include three new galleries – called Play, Imagine and Design – an interactive collection displays drawing on the full scope of the V&A collections, a suite of dedicated workshops for learning, an in-gallery design studio for visitors and a new café and shop.
Creative education spaces for hands-on making and performance will play a key role in Young V&A’s new galleries.
These include an amphitheatre-style stage in Imagine, a free-play construction area within Play, and a working Open Studio in Design, inviting young visitors to develop their creative skills through performance, play and design.
There are also three workshop spaces and a reading room on the lower ground floor dedicated to learning – all spaces which will support a year-round educational programme.
Activities within the learning programme will range from parenting courses and sessions for early years to curriculum-based provision for school learners (Key Stages 1, 2 and 3) and after school and holiday activities for families and young people.
Designed for 0–14-year olds, the revamped museum is set to reopen to the public in 2023, when it will also boast a new name – Young V&A.
The new name was chosen to reflect the museum's new mission to inspire young people with "the creative ingenuity of design", to empower educators and to act as a leader in child-centred museum practice.
Director of the V&A, Tristram Hunt, said: “Young people’s lives have been dramatically altered by the pandemic, yet they have adapted and enriched the soul of the nation in extraordinary ways – from a rainbow campaign honouring the NHS to Sky Brown’s skateboarding achievements for Team GB.
"A world-class museum that nurtures curiosity, experimentation and celebrates play, Young V&A will be a global champion for children’s creativity in all its forms.
"This vital investment – working to counter the ongoing effects of Covid-19 on young people’s access to creative education, collaborative play, and artistic inspiration – is more urgent than ever. I am delighted we are one step closer to reopening the museum’s doors in 2023.”
De Matos Ryan architects were appointed in early 2018 to develop a full base build design, including structural changes, heritage restoration, lighting and acoustic upgrades and delivery of a new suite of new workshop spaces.
Construction is now underway with handover of the site to Quinn London contractors in August 2021.
In parallel, AOC Architecture – the design team responsible for the fit-out – are completing final detailed drawings for construction tender in early autumn.
V&A Museum of ChildhoodV&A Museum of Childhood to close for two-year AOC redevelopment
V&A launches digital database for cultural heritage preservation projects
V&A appoints Gus Casely-Hayford as first director of V&A East


Mather & Co-designed Gretna Green Experience opens to the public

Project to save last major bellfoundry which cast bells for St Paul's and Washington National Cathedral

Perkins & Will reveals designs for net-zero sports and cultural centre in Toronto

World’s first living waterslides announced for Therme Manchester

Heatherwick reveals Volcano-inspired opera house designs for Hainan

Natural history museum planned for Abu Dhabi

Controversial London music venue, MSG Sphere, gets full planning permission

Clifford's Tower opens to the public after £5m redevelopment

Clifford's Tower opens to the public after £5m redevelopment

Glasgow's iconic Burrell Collection reopens after five-year, £68.5m revamp

SB Architects delivers Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Costa Rica with tree-house spa and private residences

Ole Scheeren designs vertical jungle resort complex in China

Designer Brian d’Souza launches Swell to create evocative soundscapes for physical environments

Basalt Architects create geothermal Forest Lagoon in the wilds of Iceland

Hot Pickle design £73m Guinness visitor attraction for Diageo in London

Amsterdam's new digital art centre Fabrique des Lumières will use tech to bring art alive

Pharrell Williams to launch tropical Bahamian beach resort

Banyan Tree curating solar-powered wellness retreat on private Mozambican island

Dubai Expo hits 10 million visits

Foster + Partners designs Dorchester Collection's first hotel in Middle East

Neil Jacobs reveals Six Senses Places concept for major cities

Orient Express returns to Italy after 46 years with six trains designed by Dimorestudio and new Rome hotel

400-year-old mineral spring will power Preidlhof’s €2m medicinal bath experience

Universal Beijing Resort reveals expansion plans for second phase

Pop-up stadium built with shipping containers opens ahead of 2022 World Cup

Playfulness will inspire Serenbe’s new wellness community, Spela

John McAslan + Partners-designed M7 cultural hub and museum opens in Doha

LPO Architects and GrecoDeco create vast subterranean wellness retreat for Oslo

Herzog and de Meuron’s M+ museum of visual culture distils essence of Hong Kong

Ennismore takes its lifestyle hotel brand Tribe to South East Asia
From parks designed to mitigate the effects of flooding to warming huts for one of the world’s coldest cities, these projects have been designed for increasingly extreme climates