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DESIGN OF THE TIMES
Project architect Maurizio Mucciola takes Arusa Qureshi through Kengo Kuma’s modern and cutting-edge design for V&A Dundee 34 THE LIST 1 Jun–31 Aug 2018
‘W hen I i rst saw Kengo Kuma’s drawings for V&A Dundee,’ says director Philip Long, ‘I realised he had designed something truly remarkable.’ With its ambitious, geometric structure stretching out onto the River Tay, the building seeks to reconnect the city with its historic waterfront.
During the 2010 competition to deliver V&A Dundee, the unique and modern design concepts of the acclaimed Japanese architect i rmly stood out among the many submissions from all over the world. Inspired by the cliffs of Scotland’s east coast and with Dundee’s shipbuilding and textiles heritage i rmly in mind, both tradition and innovation were very much at the forefront of Kuma’s architectural vision.
‘Generally speaking, we wanted to create something that i ts the site in a very natural way and at the same time, reconnects the city centre of Dundee back to the River Tay,’ project architect Maurizio Mucciola explains. Having established his own practice, PiM.studio Architects, in London in 2016 but having worked at Kengo Kuma & Associates for a number of years, Mucciola was tasked with guiding the team and leading the project to completion.
‘During the i rst stage, the entire design team of architects and myself were all based in Japan. Then during the more detailed stages of design, we moved the team to Edinburgh so we could be closer to the client as well as our engineers. But we were still having daily discussions with Kengo Kuma and the partners in Tokyo so we could progress the design together.’
From his base in London, Mucciola journeys to Dundee regularly, having been on site almost every week in the past year to help guide the project and the wider team. So with the superstructure complete, how close is the realised project to Kuma’s original concept? ‘The overall concept has essentially been realised,’ he says. ‘It’s been a challenge but a very interesting one: working with double curvature walls and with cutting edge technologies for the elements has been very fascinating for everyone involved. We had to work closely with each other and our structural engineers from the beginning but we managed to coordinate well and I think it’s been very successful.’ The building’s exterior, which uses 2500 cast stone panels each weighing up to two tonnes and measuring up to four metres, is dramatic in its overall make-up, providing a bold addition to Dundee’s cityscape, without being obtrusive. ‘With an exceptional and contemporary design, it’s important that it still manages to i nd its own place in the context and in the city through some of the design elements. So, we felt that in the space, if we had gone with a glass building, even with a complex shape, it wouldn’t have been appropriate because it wouldn’t have felt a part of Dundee. When I normally arrive in Dundee by train and cross the bridge, I always have to look twice before I locate the building. And that makes me very proud because I think that despite having an exceptional design, the building still blends with the rest of the city centre and the surrounding area. I think that’s a very positive thing that we’ve managed to achieve.’ It’s not just the architects involved or the public