First week of V&A Dundee attracts more than 27,000 people

V&A Dundee opened its doors for the first time to the public on Saturday 15 September 2018. Scotland’s first design museum, V&A Dundee looks at the international importance of design and also presents Scotland’s design achievements. The museum's Scottish Design Galleries are a central feature, with hundreds of exhibits of Scottish design. Within these galleries is the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Oak Room, restored, conserved and reconstructed through a partnership between V&A Dundee, Glasgow Museums and Dundee City Council.

The first week at the V&A Dundee has seen more than 27,000 people visit the new museum. The new building at Dundee waterfront, was designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. He says the form of the museum was inspired by the cliffs on Scotland's north-eastern coastline. It cost £80.11m to build. The floor area is 8,500 square metres (2.1 acres). Included in this are a main hall, learning centre, auditorium, temporary exhibition galleries and the permanent Scottish Design Galleries. The ground floor level is arranged as two separate buildings, which join together on the upper floor. The temporary exhibition space is the largest of any museum in Scotland. On the upper floor is a restaurant and outdoor terrace with views over the River Tay. 

Many in Dundee hope the museum will be able to reconnect the city to its creative past. Initial scepticism about the project appears to have faded as the building began to take shape, with many seeing this as something Dundee can take pride in. Along with other work to develop the Dundee waterfront, the V&A Dundee is also seen as an important step in restoring the cultural reputation of the city, which was in the past famous for "jute, jam and journalism". There is hope that the new museum will bring jobs and inward investment. The first weeks visitor numbers indicate that Dundee will benefit as V&A Dundee becomes an important addition to Scotland's ever-growing tourism market.