Case study | V&A Dundee Playing to the gallery With its bold geometric design in danger of upstaging the exhibits inside, V&A Dundee has been making waves far beyond the museum world. Phil Lattimore looks at how the showstopping design influenced Arups low carbon strategy and choice of the renewable energy source S ituated on the banks of the River Tay, the V&A Dundee is a stunning new landmark for the Scottish citys 1bn waterfront regeneration scheme. Its striking design makes a bold architectural statement, with a complex, twisted and folding, double-inverted pyramidal structure resembling the prow of a ship emerging from its dockside setting. The building covering 8,445m2 and featuring 1,650m2 of gallery space was designed by Japanese architects Kengo Kuma and Associates, and is the V&As first foray outside of London. Clad with about 2,500 pre-cast textured-stone panels, its exterior evokes the rugged cliffs on the north-east coast of Scotland. Work on the museum began in 2014, with Arup providing the engineering design services and BAM Construction the main contractor. Arup produced a low-energy design by first examining how the need for mechanical cooling could be minimised. It analysed the potential cooling and heating loads before specifying the services, opting for a ground source heat pump (GSHP) for primary heating and cooling, backed up by air source heat pumps (ASHPs) on the roof. Such a highly aesthetic, architect-led design demanded that the services be hidden but this presented a challenge to the engineers. 36 January 2019 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Jan19 pp36-39 Dundee design museum.indd 36 With the concrete fabric of the building being structural, there was little scope for services penetrations and limited space for plant. We had to be very careful how we distributed services, says Wayne Butler, effectively Arups project manager on the scheme, and in charge of the design of the mechanical services systems. The inclined walls are held in place by structural trusses or concrete walls within the building, so we were limited in where we could position PROJECT TEAM Client: V&A Dundee Architect: Kengo Kuma and Associates Contractor: BAM Engineering services: Arup Lighting: Arup Patrick Elsdale (ex-Arup), Junko Inomoto, Ross Kettles, Florence Lam, Laura Phillips, Jeff Shaw, Predrag Stojicevic, Santiago Torres 21/12/2018 15:05