Exploring the V&A East Storehouse: A New Era of Design and Innovation

From late May 2025, the V&A’s new working store and visitor attraction, V&A East Storehouse, opens its doors to the public for the first time following 10 years of planning and

extensive audience consultation, with input from V&A East’s Youth Collective. Designed by world-renowned architects Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, it opens as part of East Bank, the new cultural quarter in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, supported by the Mayor of London.

View of the Weston Collections Hall at V&A East Storehouse.

A ground-breaking new museum experience spanning four levels, and at 16,000m2 – bigger than 30+ basketball courts – V&A East Storehouse takes over a large section of the former London 2012 Olympics Media and Broadcast Centre (now Here East). It is a new purpose-built home for over 250,000 objects, 350,000 books and 1,000 Archives.

A world-first in size, scale and ambition, and new source of inspiration for all, V&A East Storehouse immerses visitors in over half a million works spanning every creative discipline from fashion to theatre, streetwear to sculpture, design icons to pop pioneers. A busy and dynamic working museum store with an extensive self-guided experience, visitors can now get up-close to their national collections on a scale and in ways not possible before.

Tim Reeve, Deputy Director and COO, V&A, who developed the concept for V&A East Storehouse, said: “V&A East Storehouse is a completely new cultural experience and backstage pass to the V&A, transforming how people can access their national collections on a scale unimaginable until now.

The 1924 front stage cloth for the Ballets Russes’ production, Le Train Bleu, designed by Pablo Picasso at V&A East Storehouse. Image by David Parry, PA Media Assignments

From conservation and how we care for our collections and cultural heritage around the world, to the artistry of our Museum Technicians and new research, there’s so much to discover.

• For the first time, visitors can step inside V&A East Storehouse – the V&A’s unique museum experience and busy working store designed by architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro

•Visitors can now get closer to their national collections than ever before through the V&A’s radical new Order and Object experience – now live

• Over 1,000 objects ordered so far – with the most-ordered object a 1954 Balenciaga evening dress

• The largest Pablo Picasso work in the world – the rarely displayed Ballets Russes Le Train Bleu stage cloth – is now display for the first time in over a decade alongside a series of monumental objects from architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office to the 15th century Spanish Torrijos Ceiling

View of the Weston Collections Hall at V&A East Storehouse

From the moment they emerge into the central Weston Collections Hall, visitors will be captivated by stunning vistas across all levels, surrounded by a cross-section of the V&A’s collections. Spanning ancient Buddhist sculpture to PJ Harvey’s guitar, paintings by Angelica Kauffman’s circle, costumes worn by Vivien Leigh, works by Sir Frank Bowling and Hew Locke, items from the Glastonbury Music Festival, Suffragette scarves, vintage football shirts, Thomas Heatherwick’s model for the London 2012 Olympic Cauldron and road signs designed by Margaret Calvert, visitors can take theirown path through over 100 mini curated displays hacked into the ends and sides of the storage racking.

Through the V&A’s radical new Order an Object service, anyone can now book to access any object at V&A East Storehouse, for free, seven-days-a-week. From Mid-Century furniture to ancient Egyptian shoes and Roman frescoes, an early 14th century Simone Martini painting, Leigh Bowery costumes, Althea McNish fabrics, vintage band t-shirts and performance posters, and avant-garde fashion and couture from Balenciaga, Schiaparelli, Comme des Garcons, Issey Miyake and Vivienne Westwood, there’s something for everyone to explore.

V&A’s radical new Order an Object service

Since going live on 13 May, over 250 appointments have been booked to see over 1,000 objects from 14th century and contemporary ceramics to a 17th century carpet from Iran, 1930s wedding dresses and Julia Margaret Cameron photographs. So far, the most popular item ordered is a 1954 pink silk taffeta evening dress by Cristóbal Balenciaga.

V&A East Storehouse is the first of V&A East’s two new cultural destinations to open in east London. The second, V&A East Museum, is scheduled to open in spring 2026, and celebrates making and creativity’s power to bring change. Created with young people and rooted in east London’s heritage, V&A East Museum spotlights the people, ideas and creativity shaping global culture right now.