The V&A Clothworkers’ Centre Blythe House, London

PROJECT

THE CLOTHWORKERS’ CENTRE FOR TEXTILES AND FASHION STUDY AND CONSERVATION

CLIENT

VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM

The new Clothworkers’ Centre, located at Grade II listed Blythe House is dedicated to the storage, conservation and study of the Textile and Fashion Collection, the new Centre with a custom-built compressed storage system ensures the long-term preservation of the collection of over 104,000 items. The brief was to create an enhanced ‘behind-the-scenes’ study experience, with the emphasis on a working Textile and Fashion Collection, where the storage and conservation elements were made explicit - a working studio rather than an exhibition room or a curated space. The study room area has a formal grandeur and scale similar to a reading room in a Library or a salon in a fashion house. The public study and seminar spaces make the most of the building’s generous proportions, with new interventions designed to complement and reinforce the character of the existing building. A gold metal lighting and power rig defines the working area of the study room, which is separated from the Seminar space by full-height glazed screens. A new conservation suite, with state of the art equipment, is located on the floor above. A new accessible entrance is provided which reinstates the formal entrance from Blythe Road to create a welcoming street presence and a new reception, lined by floor to ceiling glass cabinets, houses the Eduardo Paolozzi ‘Kit-Kat’ Collection and changing displays from the study collections.

COMPLETION DATE

AUGUST 2013

SELECTED AWARDS

RIBA LONDON AWARD

AJ RETROFIT AWARDS HERITAGE CIVIC TRUST COMMENDATION