V&A design rival says Kengo Kuma plan was too “out to lunch” to ever come in on budget

Kengo Kuma’s design for the V&A at Dundee was too “out to lunch” to ever come in on budget, one of the architects who lost out in the competition to design the building has claimed.

Dundee City Council revealed last week that the total cost of the V&A will now be £81 million, up from an original budget of £45 million.

Scottish Government culture secretary Fiona Hyslop has rejected calls for an independent inquiry into the rising costs and said she expects the building will be completed for £81 million.

Japanese architect Kengo Kuma’s design for the building was chosen from a shortlist of six contenders in 2010.

The building was originally supposed to be built out over the Tay but has already been moved back inland.

Now one of the architects who entered the competition to design the museum has hit out at the way the contest was run – and the decision to choose what he claims was clearly an over-ambitious building.

Charlie Sutherland of contest finalist Sutherland Hussey told The Courier it was clear that Kengo Kuma’s “out to lunch” design would not be built for £45 million when the shortlist was revealed.

Read the full story in Thursday’s Courier.