The V&A East Storehouse is not just a storage facility. It is a museum that allows visitors to see behind the scenes of art conservation and curation. The new building houses about 600,000 objects, books, and archival collections.
These were previously stored at Blythe House since the mid-1980s. When the government announced plans to sell off Blythe House in 2015, the V&A had to relocate its stored collection. Tim Reeve, deputy director and chief operating officer of the V&A, saw this as an opportunity.
He wanted to go big and be ambitious with the move. The result is a unique museum-cum-warehouse that showcases the vastness and eclecticism of the V&A’s collection. One of the highlights is the Torrijos ceiling, a 500-year-old carved wooden roof from Spain.
It took three months to install the ceiling’s eight interlocking arches and corner pieces.
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Museum technician Allen Irvine said it was one of the most difficult installations in his 21 years at the V&A.
The Torrijos ceiling is one of five “large objects” incorporated into the architecture of the space. Others include an office designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and a section of the façade from Robin Hood Gardens, an iconic brutalist tower block. The museum’s layout is inside-out, with the publicly accessible galleries surrounding the central space.
Visitors take self-guided tours, with no single story or message to take away. Objects are displayed in wooden crates and on specially designed palettes, each with a simple luggage tag that can be looked up on the V&A’s digital database. Deeper into the building, there are conservation studios, reading rooms, and a cloth workers’ centre, all publicly accessible.
Visitors can observe the work of conservators through a window overlooking the studios. V&A East Storehouse is a unique glimpse into the world of art conservation and curation. It is both a museum and a working storage facility, offering an eclectic experience for visitors.
