V&A Dundee: Reviews so far

V&A Dundee has been described as a landmark building, a national icon, and “close to perfect” as it opened its doors for the first time.

Travel journalist Simon Calder said the new design museum was an important monument and one he hopes will entice visitors to Dundee.

He said: “I’d seen lots of images of the exterior of the V&A and thought ‘that looks interesting’.

“It’s a bit Brutalist from the outside, but of course it is a landmark building.

“The natural comparison is with Bilbao in northern Spain, which in the 1990s opened the Guggenheim and transformed the city.

“Dundee, of course, another great maritime city, with an awful lot of heritage besides this marvellous new invention.

“The great thing is, whereas the Guggenheim in Bilbao, the contents are nothing to Instagram home about, here the design of Scotland, of the world, is celebrated along with all the human stories.

“So it’s a really important monument, I think, and hopefully something that is going to entice a lot of people to Dundee.”

BBC arts editor Will Gompertz described the museum as a “superb addition to our cultural landscape”, while Brian Ferguson of the Scotsman said it was “an event space unlike anything else in the UK”.

A Guardian review likened the building to a “twisting, thrilling spaceship”, though comparisons with a ship of the sailing type were more common.

Director of London’s V&A Tristram Hunt declared it a “spectacular triumph” during his visit.

He said: “This is a wonderful building, drawing inspiration from the geology of Scottish coastline, but when you stand in the midst of it, you feel like you are in one of those great whaling ships that used to sail out of Dundee.

“I think it’s a great space to think about design and the global impact of design.”