Libeskind advances

Daniel Libeskind has, despite delays over the brilliant spiral proposals for the Victoria and Albert Museum, been moving forward during the long preliminary. First the Felix Nussbaum Haus in Osnabruck, then the meteoric Jewish Museum in Berlin. Now approaching completion this summer comes the Imperial War Museum Manchester project, already adding a new peak to the urban landscape; metallic, glinting, yet benign in its advocacy of an end to all wars.

How is it that Manchester was so smart to engage and build, while in South Kensington it took so long? But the ‘spiral’ there will ultimately be built on the determination of senior curators, and (Danny would agree) by the will of the people, in the not-too-far-distant future. More than any other effect it will provide the explosive catalyst for the reborn V&A.

In the meantime, those seeking a greater understanding of Libeskind’s magic will be able to see it on the Serpentine Gallery just across the way in Hyde Park, where an aluminium spiral will temporarily transform the space, and also provide a coffee bar in the outdoor garden context – a kind of garden pavilion – to embrace this summer season.