Corian® solid surface chosen for the new Architecture Gallery at the Victoria & Albert Museum
London’s popular and prestigious Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum is home to the U.K.’s first permanent architecture gallery, a unique collaboration between the V&A Museum and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The new Architecture Gallery houses a world-class collection of drawings, models, materials and photographs in a space designed by Gareth Hoskins Architects. A long row of display plinths runs through the gallery’s central aisle, while a series of cantilevered drawer units runs along one wall, all clad with high-performance Corian® solid surface material.
The exhibits of precious models and drawings by architectural luminaries such as Palladio, Vanbrugh, Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe are displayed in a way that makes them as accessible as possible, while also protecting them from damage. Forming sleek, tactile surfaces that are strong and easy to keep pristine, Corian® solid surface is a highly practical choice for multi-traffic public environments such as this, while also adding aesthetic value by virtue of its outstanding design versatility. Corian® can be shaped as desired and is bonded in a way that creates a visually seamless surface, lending a certain monolithic impression well-suited to a museum environment. Furthermore, in the unlikely event that any damage should occur, Corian® solid surface can be repaired and restored to its original beauty.
Corian® solid surface was chosen in the cool, neutral Shadow colourway for the Architecture Gallery. According to Gareth Hoskins Architects, Corian® was chosen for “its appearance, strength, durability and ease of maintenance. Corian® solid surface has a high quality finish which, due to its resilience and inertness, is especially good for gallery displays. Its ability to be bonded with ‘invisible’ joints also allowed for large expanses of display tables to be created.”
