In 2009 the V&A advertised an international competition to design a new Museum for Dundee. We were delighted to be the only Scottish firm to be selected amongst an international stellar-cast of Architects (the others being Snohetta from Norway, Kengo Kuma from Japan, Rex and Seven Holl from New York and Delugin Meissl from Vienna).

The competition called for a new Museum to be located on the River Tay at the centre of a new business district within the city centre. The Museum is to act as a catalyst to attract inward investment to a city that has suffered more than most in the last fifty years.

The brief called for Museum space, for both permanent and temporary collections, cafe and bar facilities, education rooms and ancillary spaces all to sit on an extremely challenging site (on the water) and to meet an exacting budget. Moira Gemmill, the V&A director of design described the project as ''the opportunity to show that good design can transform the image of a city''