Interior design services

Tender description

Interior design services. Speciality design services. Architectural design services. The V&A is looking for an exciting and ambitious design practice to transform their main shop and introduce a new approach to retail at the museum. This project sits within the broader context of our FuturePlan, an ambitious programme of development in which the best contemporary designers are creating exciting new galleries and visitor facilities, while revealing and restoring the beauty of the original building. Central to these plans is a more holistic approach to the visitor experience, in which hospitality operations are fully integrated with, and complementary to, an exploration of the collections. As the 1st stage in a larger process of re-strategising the museum's commercial activities, the main shop is to be completely resigned and refitted to create a more flexible and dynamic space, which will function in close dialogue with the galleries, exhibitions and events surrounding it. Sitting at the heart of the museum, this site is crucial in defining not only retail within the museum but the visitor experience as a whole. Providing access to and from almost all areas on the ground floor it is traversed by virtually every visitor, whether arriving at or exiting the museum. It is also an iconic destination in its own right, and is regularly featured in lists of the top outlets in London. For all these reasons it is fundamental that the main shop is of a quality to match the surrounding galleries, and is at the forefront of current retail operations and design.