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08 Jun 2017

Kengo Kuma's V&A Dundee: New drone footage reveals £80m building taking shape on River Tay

New drone footage has today (8 June) been released showing huge cast stone panels being hung on the curving walls of Kengo Kuma’s V&A Dundee; Scotland's first design museum.

In total 2,466 pieces – each weighing between 1.5 and 2.5 tonnes – are being individually fixed into place, secured by two specially designed brackets secured to the building’s reinforced concrete walls.

The video shows an engineer inspecting panels fixed to the highest point of the £80m (US$103.7m, €92m) building – an 18.4m (60ft) high wall built out into the River Tay.

Kuma’s design was inspired by thee cliffs along Scotland’s north-eastern coastline, and as such none of the external building walls are straight. The shape of each one was designed in advance using 3D modelling, and the panels – made using stone aggregate, cement and reinforcement mesh – were then cast in moulds.

A cofferdam consisting of 12,500 tonnes of stone has allowed construction to take place below the waterline, permitting the museum to be built out over the river. The exterior stone panels have been fitted to the riverside wall first, using a fork lift, so work can begin on removing the cofferdam later this year.

“Nothing like this has ever been constructed in Scotland before. In fact, I can’t think of another building anywhere in the world similar to this,” said Mike Galloway, executive director of city development at Dundee City Council. “Because the museum is so unique the team of constructors, designers and engineers have had to use the latest technology to realise the architect’s vision.”

The museum – a sister to London’s Victoria and Albert Museum – will host major exhibitions, celebrate design heritage, inspire and promote contemporary talent, and encourage future design innovation. It is scheduled to open to the public in 2018.

The drone footage can be viewed below: