V&A Dundee hits construction milestone

V&A Dundee's upper floor will house galleries, learning spaces and a restaurant

Dundee's V&A Museum of Design has reached a construction milestone with the completion of its upper floor.

The floor will house galleries, learning spaces and a restaurant when the £80.1m museum opens in summer 2018.

The upper level will also feature the Michelin Design Gallery, which will showcase the museum's learning and innovation programme.

V&A Dundee will be two separate buildings, connecting on the upper floor.

More than 100 workers are involved in the construction of the museum, with building work scheduled for completion in December 2017.

Bruce Dickson, BAM Construction's regional director for Scotland said the work was progressing "better than we dared expect."

The finished museum will extend out over the River Tay

He said: "The job hasn't been held up particularly by weather.

"We've had a really good run through the summer and in the last two months it's really jumped on and is looking excellent.

"We like this type of project."

Mr Dickson said the complex construction was "particularly challenging".

He said: "Bidding on it was an interesting process, building it is an even more interesting process.

"The geometry in this job is absolutely incredible."

V&A director Philip Long (L) and John Reid from Michelin oversee the site of the Michelin Design Gallery

Philip Long, director of V&A Dundee, said: "It is thrilling to see the completion of our galleries floor, revealing for the first time the space which will host the V&A's touring exhibitions and showcase the outcomes of our learning programmes.

"The Michelin Design Gallery is central to this, and will be a very inspiring space for community participants of all ages to see what they design showcased within an international museum."

Later this year, the museum's curving concrete walls, which are cast in bespoke moulds, will reach their full height.

The moulds will then be removed to allow 2,250 cast stone panels to be hung on the walls.

Each panel weighs up to 3000kg (472 st) each and spans up to 4m (13ft).

Museum architect Kengo Kuma, who will give a talk in Dundee this week, said in April that he was "very happy" with the progress of the construction.

The museum is scheduled to open in summer 2018