Inside the Vault

It’s not often that a museum expansion makes visitors feel as though they’ve been handed the keys to the kingdom. But the newly opened V&A East Storehouse does exactly that. Housed in the repurposed London 2012 Olympic Media Centre in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the Storehouse is a bold, quietly radical rethinking of what a museum can be — not just a place to view objects, but to witness the life of a collection in motion.

Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro (of New York’s High Line), in collaboration with Austin-Smith:Lord, the four-level space spans more than 16,000 square metres (for perspective, that’s larger than 30 basketball courts). What’s more impressive than its scale, however, is its intimacy. Rather than the usual glass cases and dim lighting, the Storehouse invites visitors into the back rooms of the V&A: to see how objects are stored, studied, restored and reinterpreted. Conservators work in full view. Curators have “hacked” over 100 mini-exhibits into industrial racking, where everything from 19th-century tiles and Japanese dolls to couture garments and scientific prototypes can be discovered.

For design lovers, the thrill is in the unexpected. A full Frank Lloyd Wright interior, The Kaufmann Office, is on view — the only complete one of its kind outside the United States. A two-storey section of the Robin Hood Gardens housing estate, now demolished, sits nearby. There’s even a 15th-century gilded ceiling from the long-lost Torrijos Palace in Toledo, Spain. These aren’t pieces typically encountered in conventional museum settings. They’re massive, ambitious, and richly layered with history.

Through the “Order an Object” programme, any item from the V&A’s extensive archive — that’s over 250,000 objects, 350,000 library books, and 1,000 archives — can be requested for up-close viewing, with the support of experienced staff. A textile sample, a sketch, a stage costume: all accessible, no velvet rope required.

The space is also meaningfully rooted in East London’s creative community. Rotating performances, oral histories, and co-curated displays highlight local voices, while the Study Centre upstairs houses everything from the David Bowie ArchivFor those heading to London, consider adding V&A East Storehouse to your itinerary for a guaranteed well-spent afternoon.e to material from Glastonbury Festival and Talawa Theatre Company.

For those heading to London, consider adding V&A East Storehouse to your itinerary for a guaranteed well-spent afternoon.

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