Daylit Gallery

Prior to its conversion into an exhibition venue, the area now occupied by the Daylit Gallery was an outdoor utility courtyard sandwiched between different parts of the museum. It was a liminal space not originally intended for use by museum visitors or the display of works from the V&A's collection.^[6]

As part of the museum's long-term "FuturePlan" redevelopment programme which began in 2001,^[10] the architects McInnes Usher McKnight (MUMA), and Julian Harrap were commissioned to update and redesign this part of the museum.^[11] The resulting project included the design and renovation of ten existing galleries to showcase the Medieval and Renaissance collections, as well as the creation of the new glass-covered Daylit Gallery (Room 64b).^[6]

Construction, which was completed in late 2009,^[10] was funded in part by the Sainsbury family, and the gallery itself is named after Simon Sainsbury.^[6] Room 64b was "the first new-build public space created at the museum in over 100 years."^[4]

The Daylit Gallery houses several large-scale architectural artefacts such as the partial façade of a 15th century timber-framed house that survived the Great Fire of London, and a 16th century French wooden spiral staircase,^[12][8] many smaller fragments, including a wall of 19th century plaster casts taken from decorative elements of Salisbury Cathedral, as well other objects and curiosities in wood, bronze, wrought iron, and stone.^[13][14]

The architects received a Design and Art Direction Award in 2010 for the "new suite of galleries to house the V&A’s Medieval and Renaissance collections." The D&AD citation also highlights the "Daylit Gallery and circulation hub" as criteria for the award.^[15] At the 2010 World Architecture Festival awards, the gallery was named "Structural Design of the Year" for its all glass roof.^[3][16]

The gallery is adjacent to the Wolfson Gallery (Room 64)^[18] and the Robert H. Smith Gallery (Room 64a)^[19] on the 1st floor, just above the large, vaulted Medieval and Renaissance galleries on the ground floor (Rooms 50a, 50b, 50c, and 50d).^[20] These galleries are situated in an area that occupies the V&A's Southeast corner, adjacent to the Secretariat Wing, which houses the museum's boardroom and executive offices.^[21][22]

The four-story high atrium-like volume of the Daylit Gallery was created by repurposing and enclosing a large interstitial space and covering it with an all glass roof.^[6][4] The structure "uses glass beams or 'fins' to support the glazing", the panels of which were cold bent in place to form a hyparsurface.^[3][21] At its inception, the gallery was the only space in the museum entirely covered with glass.^[4]

The removal of an existing two level Victorian marble staircase facilitated the design and addition of a new, modern staircase and lift, also allowing for the development of a vertical "circulation hub” which joins six levels of the museum.^[11] Passing through the Daylit Gallery and connecting it with the suite of Medieval & Renaissance Galleries, this circulation hub provides continuity and previously lacking "equality of access" throughout this important and much visited zone of the V&A.^[6][11]

The museum has used the Daylit Gallery to stage temporary exhibitions during the London Design Festival, and to host various public and private events.^[24][25][26] In 2010, as part of the exhibition 1:1 – Architects Build Small Spaces,^[27][28] a Japanese teahouse on stilts by Terunobu Fujimori called Beetle’s House was constructed in situ in the gallery.^[29][30] In recent years, special exhibitions in the space have included Plasticity by Niccolo Casas and Parley for the Oceans (2022),^[31] a Mino washi paper Hana Mikoshi "flower shrine" by Hayatsu Architects (2023),^[32][33][34] and Communion (2024), an exploration of Ghana's culinary traditions, culture, and rituals by artist-architect Giles Tettey Nartey.^[35][36]

• Cast Courts – Galleries in the Victoria and Albert Museum
• Prince Consort Gallery – Exhibition venue in the Victoria and Albert Museum