Completed last year, AL_A's porcelain public courtyard at London's V&A Museum is the largest architectural intervention and restoration of the site in more than 100 years. AL_A also designed a new colonnade and a column-free exhibition gallery. The design connects the space with the neighboring buildings on site, giving the museum a more streamlined sequence between gallery spaces.
The majority of the project is concealed beneath the new courtyard, which was paved with 11,000 handmade porcelain tiles accented by glazing in a variety of tones. Fifteen different linear patterns decorate the tiles covering the 1,200-square meter Sackler Courtyard. The deliberate pattern of the tiles derived from the organization of trusses that support the courtyard space. The roof of the cafe and shop which emerge from the ground plane is covered in 4,300 additional tiles.
