First look: inside the mind-blowing new V&A East Storehouse in Stratford

Time Out

5 days ago

From the outside, the V&A East Storehouse looks like any other Stratford warehouse. The giant glass and steel cuboid sits among the soulless, unnervingly clean apartment blocks of the east London enclave. Stratford itself is a unique area; it can be eerily quiet, and is peppered with odd landmarks like the towering ArcelorMittal Orbit and shiny Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, contrasting starkly with the graffiti-clad bars of Hackney Wick just beyond.
But the V&A East Storehouse, alongside the V&A East Museum (opening in 2026) and the new Sadler's Wells East, is making this former brownfield site one of London's most exciting new cultural destinations.
I was lucky enough to be one of the first people to look around this bona fide treasure trove, though wasn't entirely sure what to expect from this all-free, all-new cultural offering: would it be a warehouse full of bubble-wrapped statues and old paintings covered in sheets? In reality, I was awestruck by the hoard of goods on show, which spans centuries, continents and all kinds of creative disciplines.
The Storehouse is one of many new openings from the V&A in recent years, with the Young V&A reopening after refurbishment in 2023 and the V&A East Museum also on the horizon. Plus, from September 2025, the Storehouse will also be home to the David Bowie Centre, the biggest collection of Bowie-related objects on display to date.
What exactly is the V&A East Storehouse?
This isn't some dusty gallery showing old objects. It is a 'working museum', meaning it doesn't have permanent displays (it doesn't really have proper displays at all, just shelves), and every one of its objects is free to be moved around by the people at work behind the scenes at any time. It's also the first of its kind, and it might just change how we think about viewing artefacts forever.
Museums typically only show about one or two percent of their archives, I'm told by a guide, meaning huge quantities of objects never get to see the light of day. The V&A has decided to rewrite the script and put the majority of its collection on view for all to see. Inside the Storehouse is a mammoth collection, made up of 250,000 objects (from Mughal architecture, to vintage Vivienne Westwood jackets) and 350,000 books which span 1,000 different archives. You also get a peak behind the curtain, with windows into white rooms where conservationists and curators are hard at work (I'm not sure how the staff feel about their office being turned into a human fish tank, but for visitors it's a real thrill).
To house all these objects, which were previously kept tucked away in Blythe House in West Kensington, the V&A needed a vast building. Designed by world-renowned architects Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, its 16,000 square metres (bigger than more than 30 basketball courts) has taken over the former London 2012 Olympics Media and Broadcast Centre, with a purpose built space that spans four floors and took 10 years to come to fruition.
What is the V&A East Storehouse like inside?
On entering I'm greeted by a minimal, modern foyer, with primary-coloured arm chairs, pale wood furniture and grey floors. It seems like a comfortable place to spend a few hours with a coffee, or tapping away on a laptop – there's an inviting coffee shop helmed by the team behind local bakery e5 Bakehouse, and plenty of seating.
But onto the main event. When I emerged into the collections hall, I let out an audible gasp. Climb up the staircase in the foyer and you will arrive in an enormous square room. In the centre is a glass floor with windows looking onto the levels below; this centre point is encircled by a treasure trove of different cultural artefacts.
Interiors wise, the whole thing is fairly stripped back. Rows and rows of steel shelves are filled with objects, some as old as five centuries, as far as the eye can see. In some places the items are very loosely grouped together to show a snippet of each of the disciplines housed in the V&A's collection, from performing arts, to furniture, to fashion, to jewellery and more. Bronze statues, ornate vases, intricate costumes, motorbikes – you name it, they have it, and you can see them all on display together. There are no lengthy gallery texts, instead just library-like barcodes and the odd QR code, meaning it's all down to your own interpretation. The randomness is part of the fun. It's a joy to see a floral-painted Glastonbury festival bin on show next to a boned 19th century dress.
Some objects are organised into mini exhibitions at the end of each corridor, which the V&A is calling its 'hacked' displays. These change every few months and offer tidbits of information – the most fascinating bits being insights into how museums and archives actually work. It sounds nerdy, but it's genuinely interesting to get a proper behind the scenes look into everything from restoration, to curation, to how the items are stored and how displays are built.
Designed to be a self-guided experience, you get to choose your own adventure and get lost among the objects. I wasn't totally left floundering alone though. Friendly gallery assistants are on hand to answer any questions – just look out for the people in orange vests.
What are the best things to see in the V&A East Storehouse?
Dotted among the eclectic collection are also some of the museum's prized large objects, some of which haven't been on display for decades due to their size. Six of these items have been built into the walls of the museum; this includes a recreation of the Robin Hood estate, a former Poplar council block that opened in 1972 and housed residents up until 2024. The brutalist facade of the estate hangs from the mezzanine, while on the second floor you can take a peak at the building's recreated corridors, with bright orange doors and psychedelic wallpaper.
Another stunner is the exquisite 15th century carved and gilded wooden ceiling from the now lost Torrijos Palace in Spain and a recreation of a 1950s kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky that revolutionised cooking for housewives. And don't miss the largest Picasso in the world, standing more than 10 metres high and 11 metres wide.
What is 'Order an Object' at the V&A East Storehouse?
There is already enough to leave you blown away, but the jewel in the crown of the V&A East Storehouse is its 'Order an Object' service. Here visitors can request any available item from the archive to be brought to them in the special viewing room, where they can peruse at their leisure. Appointments are free and can be booked online at your own convenience; objects can be viewed for research purposes, or just for the hell of it, and you can order multiple artefacts.
Visitors will have their pick of more than half a million creative works, spanning fashion, furniture, photography, ceramics, musical instruments, the list goes on. Their most popular item, I'm told, is the hot pink 1954 silk taffeta evening dress by Cristóbal Balenciaga. I see its brilliantly fuchsia swathes of fabric laid out on the table and am overcome by an urge to try it on (I don't, obviously).
Wandering around this living, breathing museum feels like looking into the brain of a mad history professor. Masterpieces and gems of information are everywhere, and it's all jumbled up in a fun and exciting way. My favourite thing about the V&A East Storehouse is that it's a working museum in the truest sense, but it's not pretentious, it simply asks visitors to bask in all the wonders they have on offer. I can't wait to go back and get lost in there for hours.