V&A Museum of Design Dundee invite local school children to partake in a ‘topping out’ ceremony

A ‘topping out’ ceremony will be held on Wednesday (March 1) to mark a significant moment in the construction of V&A Museum of Design Dundee.

Local schoolchildren will be involved in the event which will see a Douglas Fir tree positioned ceremonially by crane at the highest point of the building, nearly two years on from the start of construction.

The tree will be in position temporarily for the ceremony on Wednesday and will be planted as part of the landscaping at the site later.

Designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, the £80.11 million V&A Museum of Design project is on schedule to open to the public next year.

The pupils, from Our Lady’s and Rosebank primary schools, have been taking part in the Bonnetmakers design project with V&A Dundee which has seen them explore the traditions of Dundee bonnet making and look forward to the impact the museum will have on their futures.

Since construction started in April 2015, key milestones achieved include the completion of a coffer dam which enabled the foundation construction for the part of the building that will sit out over the Tay, groundworks on the former reclaimed dock site, piling for the ground source heating system and remodelling of the river wall.

 Core inner walls, stairwell and lift cores and the outer double curvature walls of the building have all now been constructed.

 This year, following the removal of form work, pre-cast panels will be installed to the exterior walls to give the building its unique slatted, multi-layered appearance.

 These horizontal panels will create the appearance of a cliff face, realising architect Kengo Kuma’s vision inspired by the coastline of north eastern Scotland. Each panel weighs up to 3000kg and spans up to 4 metres.

 Construction of V&A Dundee has also created a number of benefits for young people.

 There have been 17 new start employment opportunities created, 17 existing apprentices are working on the project and a further 6 apprenticeships have been initiated on the project.

 There have been 7 work experience placements as part of employability programmes, most of which have been of twelve weeks duration, and 7 work experience placements for school pupils.