Extension to the Victoria & Albert Museum (1996-undetermined)
Construction on "The Spiral," the $54.5 million addition to London's Victoria & Albert Museum, may never get started due to funding shortfalls and the vocal objections of architecture critics and laypeople who believe the project is too costly, unbuildable, and a blight on the exterior of the historic landmark. When it was unveiled in 1996, Libeskind's design was considered groundbreaking: an asymmetrical spiral constructed from a continuous wall system that grows wider as it twists into the sky and unfurls in unexpected directions. Its exterior of white ceramic tile and steely gray stone employs a fractal design that creates an undulating texture of infinitely repeating geometric patterns.

© Miller Hare. Reproduced with the permission of Studio Daniel Libeskind.