V&A drops Libeskind extension

On 16 September the trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London dropped the project to build an extension by Daniel Libeskind, known as the “Spiral”, more than eight years after it was first proposed. This follows the decision in July by the Heritage Lottery Fund to reject a £15 million application, making the £70 million scheme unviable. Director Mark Jones commented: “This is a sad loss for the V&A and, I believe, for London as a whole. Daniel Libeskind is one of the world’s most outstanding architects and the Spiral would have been one of the most exciting and exceptional buildings in London. But our belief is that public funding is essential to the project.” Mr Libeskind told The Art Newspaper that although he is very disappointed by the Lottery rejection, he “still believes in the building”—but he has plenty of work and is moving on. An exhibition on Libeskind’s projects is currently at London’s Barbican Art Gallery (until 23 January).