Architect ditches plans to “float” £45m building over harbour

Plans to have the V&A’s Dundee museum “float” over the water of the city’s Craig Harbour have been scrapped under a revised design intended to meet construction schedules.

The £45m museum, designed by architect Kengo Kuma and Associates, had been set to sit partly over the harbour but the new proposal will see the museum move inland with a section jutting over the River Tay.

Philip Long director of the V&A at Dundee, said: “It gives us greater certainty with regards to the building schedule while retaining the quality of the overall design, which is absolutely paramount.”

Maurizio Mucciola, of Kengo Kuma & Associates, said: “While retaining the original concept of our project and the qualities of the building, the new site plan will tighten the relationship of V&A at Dundee with the river and the city centre, and help connect the two with a sequence of quality public spaces around the building.”

A final decision on whether the revised design will go ahead will be taken by the Design Dundee Ltd board later this month. Construction is due to start in 2013.

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