V&A East Museum, designed by architects O'Donnell + Tuomey, will open to the public on 18 April 2026. Assigned to the firm in 2015, the new building is located in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, near its recently opened sister facility, the V&A East Storehouse, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Located in East London, the UK's newest cultural quarter supported by the Mayor of London, the two-building complex aims to "spotlight the many ways global artists, designers, and makers use creativity to shape the world." Dedicated to creative opportunity and its power to bring change, the museum's five public levels contain two permanent galleries, a 900 sqm temporary exhibition gallery, a top-floor project and event space, learning facilities, and a café.
Positioned on Waterfront Square, V&A East Museum is conceived as "a new kind of museum, welcoming to a wide audience." The brief for the architects was to design a distinctive building open to all, particularly young people, East London communities, and visitors who may not previously have felt at ease in museum spaces. The response was an open building expected to prompt curiosity, with a permeable, protective outer shell wrapping around the internal core. The separation between the façade and the structure was inspired by Balenciaga's sculptural tailoring in the V&A's collection, particularly by the attention to the space between garment and body, as well as the Japanese concept of "Ma," or "the space in between." This interstitial space becomes a circulation route guiding visitors upwards behind a folded façade.
The building exterior is formed from 479 sand-coloured precast concrete panels, shaped and scored with profiles that reference the V&A's logo. The linework creates a unified pattern along the three-dimensional façade, designed to catch the changing light during the day. At the ground and podium levels, benches are integrated into the façade to extend the museum's threshold into the public realm. Within the building, spaces are aligned vertically and connected by a continuous circulation route carved from the thickness of the external walls. Terrazzo concrete floors are used for material continuity with the public area outside the museum. Punctual windows along the circulation routes, three public terraces, and two entrances at the waterfront and podium levels connect the new structure to the East Bank and the city.
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London Architecture City Guide: 20 Modern and Contemporary Attractions to Explore in UK’s Cultural and Financial PowerhouseThe new building adds two free permanent galleries to the Museum, exploring contemporary global culture. The galleries, called Why We Make, will house over 500 objects from the V&A's collections, spanning art, architecture, design, performance, and fashion. Other topics represented in the collection include wellbeing, creative communities, social justice, and environmental action. The space was designed by JA_Projects in collaboration with A Practice for Everyday Life, Larry Achiampong, and the V&A East Youth Collective. With new acquisitions made to the V&A collection, some objects will be on display for the first time on 18 April. These include design work by Yasmeen Lari and architectural models by Assemble.
Since winning the architectural competition in 2015, we have worked with the V&A team to make a new kind of museum, welcoming to a wide audience. V&A East Museum stands on a public square at the heart of East Bank, Stratford's new cultural and educational district. Making public work with civic purpose is a motivating principle of our practice. V&A East Museum has been a special project in our portfolio. We are delighted to see it open its doors. — John Tuomey, Founding Director of O'Donnell + Tuomey
The inaugural exhibition, called The Music Is Black: A British Story, will explore how Black British music has shaped British culture from 1900 to the present day and reveal its global impact. Designed as a multisensory exhibition, it includes a partnership with BBC Music and kicks off The Music Is Black Festival, a series of programming, displays, and performances in collaboration with East Bank partners in summer 2026. The temporary exhibition will feature over 200 objects from the V&A's collection, along with loans, as well as a set of elements celebrating the emergence of eight distinct Black British genres, from 2 tone to lovers rock, Brit funk, jungle, drum & bass, trip hop, UK garage, and grime.
The building also opens with New Work, a new twice-yearly rotating programme of creative commissions. The program is designed to champion local and global artists, designers, and community collaborators responding to the theme Making East London. The commissions, therefore, explore new ideas to address the urgent social, cultural, and political issues of our time. On this occasion, eight artists are invited to reflect on the district's layered histories and creative futures, exploring the area as a site of global influence, recovery, cross-cultural exchange, and creative production. The results will be displayed across V&A East's two sites: the V&A East Museum and Storehouse.
Other recent news from London includes the announcement of Kengo Kuma & Associates, in collaboration with BDP and MICA, as the winners of the international competition to design a new wing for the National Gallery. London-based architecture practice Orms has been appointed to lead the redevelopment of the BT Tower, a postwar landmark to be converted into a hotel. Additionally, Battersea Power Station has announced the appointment of Studio Egret West to evolve the original masterplan for the remaining 16 acres of the 42-acre riverside neighbourhood in southwest London.
