V&A Dundee is the icing on the cake of Dundee’s impressive £1 billion regeneration of its waterfront.
Jutting out over the Tay, it is a unique and striking building that is used to display the finest in contemporary and historic design.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Oak Room sits proudly among the many exhibits as an exemplar of cuttingedge design circa 1907.
For anyone who bothers to look, within its walls there is design inspiration aplenty.
This week, architects Cooper and Cromar submitted plans for further developing a gap site opposite the museum into a five-storey office block.
Local commercial property expert David Rose argues that new offices will be needed if Dundee is to retain and attract new talent and grow its economic base in the years ahead.
But many question whether offices are the right use of such a prominent site, especially given the general move to hybrid working post-pandemic.
it gives me no pleasure to inform you that the Modern Architects are at it again, with some new plans for Dundee Waterfront that just dull the senses in every conceivable way pic.twitter.com/rYhvsW7A3w
— Jon Brady (@jonbradyphoto) August 12, 2022
Not to mention that a similar, neighbouring building took a long time to be tenanted.
Before any decisions are made, councillors have a duty to think long and hard about whether they believe the plans before them are right for the city both in the short
and long term.
The focus should be on quality, with no room for compromise.
‘Dundee needs high-quality offices’ – property expert on controversial Waterfront plans
Conversation