Journal

The thing about the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is that it’s much, much bigger than you think. Pushed right up on the north-western fringe, accompanied by the relentless hum of the A12, across the water from rapidly changing Hackney Wick, is Here East, the building that housed the world’s media outlets during the 2012 Olympics. For a long time it was a remote outpost but it’s gradually feeling more connected as the park continues to be developed. It’s a building I’ve never understood. A vast industrial shed covered in shimmering reflective glass, giving absolutely no clue as to what happens inside. The funky graphics do little to make it feel welcoming.

Except now it’s open to the public with the addition of the V&A East Storehouse.

Like the rest of Here East it doesn’t give much away from the outside. But the disappointing, low-ceilinged, under-designed, entrance is clearly setting you up for the enormous volume of space that awaits within. 

Unlike the Depot in Rotterdam, or the new V&A East on Stratford’s East Bank the storehouse is completely internalised, artificially lit and spatially rational. You circulate around a three-storey rectangular atrium on functional grey metal gantries, flanked by rows of grey metal racking. 

It sounds awful. But it’s not. It’s a delight; it’s like Ikea, if Ikea had all the best stuff from history and was designed by Diller Scofidio Renfrew. The space is stunning, with a no-nonsense industrial design that is sharp and shimmering (I’d be interested to know what accessibility consultants think about the ease of visual and physical access). The variety, range and juxtaposition of objects is incredible. The curation is light touch, allowing you to explore and discover as you wish. It’s a huge treasure trove of lovely stuff.

Off the main atrium there are some spectacular delights to be discovered; the Torrijos Ceiling, the backdrop to the Firebird ballet, the Frankfurt Kitchen, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Kaufman Office and the Agra Colonnade glimpsed through the glass beneath your feet.

It’s a reminder that the ingredients of architecture don’t have to be complicated. Diller Scofidio Renfrew have been super restrained and kept it simple. You can feel the quality but the architecture knows its place. 

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