Clothworkers Centre, Victoria and Albert Museum

Clothworkers Centre, Victoria and Albert Museum
Haworth Tompkins for the V&A
Contract £2.2m. GIA 3,345m²

Haworth Tompkins’ pared-down aesthetic – respecting the virtues of the existing and the marks of time – is a natural for this job, involving Henry Tanner’s tough-as-old-boots 1890s building, originally the Post Office Savings Bank, with glazed brick interiors. Against these the architect set clearly-defined new elements in black and gold. Well-daylit new workrooms have moveable furniture to cope with changes in patterns of use in the study and conservation of textiles and fashion.