On Saturday 31 May 2025, the V&A East Storehouse opens to the public after 10 years of planning and audience consultation, including input from V&A East’s Youth Collective.
Designed by renowned architects Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, it is part of East Bank, the new cultural quarter in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, supported by the Mayor of London.
A new museum experience spanning four levels and 16,000m²—larger than 30 basketball courts—V&A East Storehouse occupies part of the former London 2012 Olympics Media and Broadcast Centre (now Here East). It serves as a purpose-built home for over 250,000 objects, 350,000 books, and 1,000 archives.
A world-first
V&A East Storehouse, a world-first in terms of size and ambition, immerses visitors in over half a million works across various creative disciplines, including fashion, theatre, sculpture, and streetwear. This is an active and vibrant museum store that offers an extensive self-guided experience, enabling visitors to engage intimately with national collections in ways that were previously not possible.
Tim Reeve, deputy director and COO of V&A, who developed the concept for V&A East Storehouse, says:
“V&A East Storehouse is a completely new cultural experience and backstage pass to the V&A, transforming how people can access their national collections on a scale unimaginable until now. From conservation and how we care for our collections and cultural heritage around the world, to the artistry of our Museum Technicians and new research – there’s so much to discover.
“I hope our visitors enjoy finding their creative inspiration and immersing themselves in the full theatre and wonder of the V&A as a dynamic working museum.”
Experience the collection
The V&A’s new Order an Object service allows anyone to access objects at V&A East Storehouse for free, seven days a week.
From mid-century furniture and ancient Egyptian shoes to Roman frescoes and a 14th-century painting by Simone Martini, this collection includes Leigh Bowery costumes, Althea McNish fabrics, vintage band t-shirts, performance posters, and avant-garde pieces from Balenciaga, Schiaparelli, Comme des Garçons, Issey Miyake, and Vivienne Westwood, ensuring there’s something for everyone to discover.
Since going live on May 13, more than 250 appointments have been scheduled to explore over 1,000 objects, including 14th-century ceramics, a 17th-century carpet from Iran, 1930s wedding dresses, and photographs by Julia Margaret Cameron.
Elizabeth Diller, founding partner at Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the firm that designed the architecture for V&A East Storehouse, says:
“To celebrate the heterogeneity of the V&A’s collection of collections—spanning a broad variety of mediums, scales, and historical periods—visitors will experience a sense of being immersed in a vast Cabinet of Curiosities.
“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.”
Revolutionising access
Museums Minister Sir Chris Bryant says: “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.”
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, says: “V&A East Storehouse is a brand-new, groundbreaking museum experience in East Bank, London’s new educational and cultural district, that will revolutionise access to the world’s leading collection of art, design and performance.
“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.”
Mini-displays and large-scale exhibits
Upon entering the central Weston Collections Hall, visitors can see vistas across all levels, surrounded by the V&A’s collections. Here, they have the opportunity to explore more than 100 carefully curated mini displays housed within the storage racking.
These exhibits feature a diverse array of items, including ancient Buddhist sculptures, PJ Harvey’s guitar, Angelica Kauffman’s circle paintings, costumes worn by Vivien Leigh, works by Sir Frank Bowling and Hew Locke, memorabilia from the Glastonbury Music Festival, Suffragette scarves, vintage football shirts, a model of Thomas Heatherwick’s London 2012 Olympic Cauldron, and road signs designed by Margaret Calvert.
Six large-scale objects anchor the space, showcased for the first time in decades. Notable pieces featured include the 1930s Kaufmann Office, the only complete Frank Lloyd Wright interior outside the US; a 15th-century carved wooden ceiling from the Torrijos Palace in Spain; and a full-scale 20th-century Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky.
Also on display is a section of the building from Robin Hood Gardens, a former residential estate in east London, the 17th century Agra Colonnade, an extraordinary example of Mughal architecture from the bathhouse at the fort of Agra, and the largest Picasso work in the world – a monumental Ballets Russes Le Train Bleu theatre stage cloth.
V&A East Storehouse. Image by David Parry/PA Media Assignments. Pablo Picasso, Le Train Bleu front stage cloth, 1924 © The estate of Pablo Picasso
These large objects come to life through co-production projects with young East Londoners, communities, and creatives, highlighting new voices and perspectives via oral histories, films, publications, and artworks.
V&A East Storehouse is the first of V&A East’s two cultural destinations, located in East London. The second, V&A East Museum, is set to open in spring 2026, celebrating the transformative power of creativity. Designed with young people in mind and rooted in East London’s heritage, V&A East Museum highlights the individuals, ideas, and creativity that shape global culture today.
