Review of the Architecture Club’s visit to Young V&A Museum

“Adults are just obsolete children, and the hell with them.” – Dr. Seuss.

Welcomed by Sarah Featherstone, the tour was led by Jose de Matos (De Matos Ryan), Gill Lambert (AOC) and Alex Newson (Chief Curator, Young V&A). Formerly the Museum of Childhood, the new museum firmly places children at the heart of the museum.

Originally built as part of Albertopolis the cast-iron and glass structure was disparagingly named as the ‘Brompton Boiler’ due to its industrial aesthetic. Unwanted by others, it found its new home as the Bethnal Green Museum in 1872, displaying a variety of collections over the years including fine arts and few children’s items. The children’s section then grew becoming the Museum of Childhood showcasing what is now regarded as the largest collection of childhood related objects in the UK. To celebrate the museum’s 150^th anniversary in 2022, it underwent another transformation led by De Matos Ryan for the base build and AOC for the fit-out and exhibition design.

One of the biggest changes was to open the ceiling top light and the side windows facing the park, allowing natural light in – a slightly contradictory move for a museum where light control of museum objects is the norm. But through careful planning, the displays have been designed to manage this resulting in the overall atrium space being a lot brighter, more up-lifting and allowing visual connections from inside to out. Services and new lighting are hidden and an abundance of acoustic panelling blends unnoticeably into the original structure.

The central atrium – known as the Town Square – has been decluttered, allowing a clear and uninterrupted view from the fully-glazed entrance doors right through to the far end. The mosaic floor, originally laid by women prisoners is now fully conserved. A series of small arches cut into the side walls provide views into the basement spaces flanking each side and a series of generous sized benches made from London plane trees provide ample seating.

The most noticeable transformation is within the galleries. Organised under the three themes of Design, Play and Imagine, each space takes on its own character through an abundance of colour, texture, playful enclosures and climbable shapes as backdrops to the object displays. Each display has been thoughtfully considered: whether it’s the surprising yet fun juxtaposition of objects, the generosity of the more open showcases or the fact that everything is set at a lower child-friendly height - the galleries are both dense in the displays that they’re offering and at the same time with ample space to hang out. I was glad to see that not all the original Victorian vitrines had disappeared – I spied one of them now home to a series of suspended Lego-rocket ships orbiting within a galaxy of alien craft. The artist studio on the top floor with its generous space encourages young visitors to get creative.

Co-curation and co-production were integral to the overall design process. Dematos Ryan, AOC and the V&A team worked closely with stakeholders mainly made up of local school children, supported by teachers and their families. Workshopping themes such as ‘in and out, up and down, and around and about’ the young adults really did influence design decisions on visitor circulation, the relationship of the museum to the street/exterior and the nature of the galleries. Not just tokenistic, their input was critical to the design process even to the design of the feature staircase proposal. Approved by Tristram Hunt, the staircase design was reviewed by the children, who suggested that it should be more inclusive. Their feedback led to the addition of the mirrored kaleidoscope feature.

On reflection the galleries really do offer variety, not just for children but adults too. They are experimental and playful and whether you were spending 15 mins or 3 hours, there is something for everyone. On a previous visit, I felt that the variety of materials and textures (110 different types!) had felt overly busy and at times overwhelming to the point of distracting from the displays but having an opportunity to spend more time and understand the rationale I think it feels like a brave move and no doubt satisfied the children!

By the end of the tour, everyone seemed to have a smile on their face having had an opportunity to spot their favourite toy in a showcase or play in the swirly sand pit. Amongst the inevitable questions on acoustic panelling, finishes and light level ingress – we all seemed to quietly reconnect with our childhoods before finishing the evening in a local wine bar down the road.

Katherine Skellon, Skellon Studio (Museum & Exhibition designer)

Skellonstudio.com