As part of the Victoria & Albert Museum's mission to revitalize and renovate its facilities (which it adorably refers to as its "FuturePlan"), it's bringing the old furniture out of the vault. Starting December 1, the museum will be home to a new, permanent Furniture Gallery, providing a space to display pieces that haven't been on view for more than 30 years.
In collaboration with Glasgow-based NORD Architects, the V&A is building a futuristic way of looking at the past. The collection stretches back to 1509 with a gilded cassone made for Italy's Duke of Urbino. Though the 200 pieces set to go on display (most of them from Britian and Europe with a few objects from Asia and the United States) date back 600 years, they'll be labeled with digital touchscreen interfaces, while contemporary experts like David Adjaye and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen will lend their voices to the audio tours.
Highlights in the new wing include what you’d expect: design mainstays like the Eameses make an appearance with one of their signature Storage Units, as does Frank Lloyd Wright with his high-backed, uncomfortably rigid-looking dining chair for the Ward Willets House (1902). Watch out for pieces by mid-Georgian marvel Thomas Chippendale and the postmodernist stylings of Ron Arad, too.