Drone casts new light on Dundee V&A Museum of Design

Dundee's V&A Museum of Design has released new drone footage of large cast stone panels being hung on its curving outer walls.

The panels, which each weigh between 1.5 and 2.5 tonnes, are being individually fixed into place on the walls of the £80.1m building.

A total of 2,466 panels will be hung on the building's exterior, each with two specially-designed brackets.

The museum is expected to open in the summer of 2018.

V&A Dundee is the first British building by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, who is also designing the Tokyo 2020 Olympic stadium.

The museum's design is inspired by the cliffs along Scotland's north-eastern coastline.

The drone footage shows an engineer inspecting panels fixed to the highest point of the building, an 18.4m (60ft) high wall built out into the river.

Mike Galloway, executive director of city development at Dundee City Council, said: "V&A Dundee is an impressive feat of engineering and installing thousands of stone panels is the next stage of this ambitious build.

"Nothing like this has ever been constructed in Scotland before.

"In fact, I can't think of another building anywhere in the world similar to this.

"Because the museum is so unique, the team of constructors, designers and engineers have had to use the latest technology to realise the architect's vision."

Panels on the riverside have been attached first to allow the removal of the cofferdam, a watertight enclosure, in the summer.

The cofferdam consists of 12,500 tonnes of stone and has allowed the museum to be built out over the river.