V&A Dundee: Landmark design museum opens in Scotland

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Dundee's landmark V&A museum opens its doors for the first time to the public on September 15. It is Scotland's first design museum and the first V&A museum in the world outside London.

V&A Dundee is one of the most anticipated buildings in 2018. It was designed by acclaimed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, who is also designing the stadium for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

V&A Dundee's design was inspired by the dramatic cliffs along the northeast coast of Scotland. /Photo courtesy of Hufton+Crow

The museum's construction and fit-out took three and a half years to complete and it stands at the center of the Dundee waterfront, once part of the city's docklands.

The design was inspired by the dramatic cliffs along the northeast coast of Scotland. The curving walls hold 2,500 pre-cast rough stone panels, weighing up to 3,000-kilograms each. It stretches out into the river Tay, connecting the city with its historic waterfront.

V&A Dundee's light-filled wooden interior was revealed for the first time ahead of its official opening. /Photo courtesy of Hufton+Crow

"I'm truly in love with the Scottish landscape and nature. I was inspired by the cliffs of northeastern Scotland, it's as if the earth and water had a long conversation and finally created this stunning shape," said Kengo Kuma, architect of V&A Dundee.

The museum's light-filled wooden interior was revealed for the first time ahead of its official opening this weekend. It is described by Kuma as a "living room for the city."

Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Oak Room has been meticulously restored, conserved and reconstructed through a partnership between V&A Dundee, Glasgow Museums and Dundee City Council. /Photo courtesy of V&A Dundee Scotland

At the heart of the museum, the galleries feature 300 objects including the reconstructed interior of Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Oak Room that had been lost to view for nearly 50 years.

The museum's exhibition program opens with "Ocean Liners: Speed and Style," the first exhibition to explore the design and cultural impact of the ocean liner on an international scale.