A brand new V&A museum experience opened its doors to the public at the end of May.
The V&A East Storehouse, a unique museum experience and busy working store designed by world-renowned architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, has been revolutionising the way people view archives.
Visitors are now able to get closer to their national collections than ever before through the V&A’s radical new Order an Object Experience, which is now live.
Diller Scofidio + Renfro founding partner Elizabeth Diller said: “The Collections Hall invites visitors to explore pre-curated works surrounding them, not according to conventional curatorial logics or standard storage taxonomies, but guided instead by their own curiosities.
“It has been a joy to work with the V&A’s curators and conservators in creating this new kind of institution: neither warehouse nor museum, but rather a hybrid shared by staff and the public with expanded opportunities for access and exchange.”
Visitors can order any object to view up-close, free of charge, at the V&A East Storehouse via the V&A’s Order an Object Page.
Prior to opening, over 1,000 objects had been ordered to view at the Storehouse, with the most ordered object being a 1954 Balenciaga evening dress.
Saturday’s grand opening of the live archive came after ten years of extensive planning and audience consultation.
The Storehouse also includes the e5 Storehouse café, and the museum spans over four levels.
At 16,000 square metres, it is bigger than 30-plus basketball courts.
The museum, which has free admission, has taken over a large section of the former London 2012 Olympics Media and Broadcast Centre, and is now home to 250,000 objects, 350,000 books and 1,000 archives.
The largest Pablo Picasso work in the world, the rarely displayed Ballets Russes Le Train Bleu stage cloth is now on display at the Storehouse for the first time in over a decade, alongside a series of monumental objects from architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office to the 15th Century Spanish Torrijos Ceiling.
Also on show is a building section from Robin Hood Gardens, a former residential estate in East London.
The East Bank is the UK’s newest cultural quarter at the heart of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and is already home to BBC Music Studios, London College of Fashion, Sadler’s Wells East and University College London (UCL).
The V&A East Storehouse is the latest building to open on the site.
Museums minister Sir Chris Bryant said: “It’s great to see the V&A innovating in this way.
“V&A East Storehouse makes it possible for everyone to delve into a massive treasure trove of art, design and performance history in ways never seen before.”
A busy and dynamic working museum store with an extensive self-guided experience, visitors can watch intricate conservation happening live in action at the Storehouse.
Those who visit can immerse themselves in over half a million works spanning every creative discipline, from fashion to theatre, streetwear to sculpture, design icons to pop pioneers.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “I’m proud to be supporting this landmark project, which will allow Londoners and visitors to go behind the scenes for the first time ever and explore some incredible treasures, from Roman artefacts and modern-day music archives to the largest Picasso work in the world, all for free.
“It’s the next building to open at East Bank and marks a hugely significant moment in our work to create the most ambitious cultural development in decades, helping us to ensure London stays the creative capital of the world.”
The Storehouse is the first of V&A East’s two new cultural destinations to open in East London, with the second V&A East Museum due to open in spring 2026.
The East Storehouse is open 10am-6pm seven days a week, with late night openings to 10pm every Thursday and Saturday.
The Storehouse’s free to access The David Bowie Centre will be the new home of David Bowie’s Archive, opening on 13 September 2025.
The museum’s first onsite live event will see back2back: Archival Bodies, supported by the Terra Foundation for American Art, take place on 7 June.
Additionally, a new programming strand, A Life in the Work of Others, featuring Turner Prize-winning artist, Jasleen Kaur, will launch on the 26 June.
For more information on directions and accessibility, please visit the V&A East Storehouse website.
Featured image: David Parry, PA Media Assignments
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