Eight years have passed since 1996, when London’s Victoria and Albert Museum chose Daniel Libeskind’s radical project to expand its spaces. It has been constantly talked about the world over since 1996, but the idea is still only on paper. Now that the public funds required to build it have been refused for the third time, it is starting to look as if the ‘Spiral’ is destined to remain just an idea.

Libeskind’s design has always split public opinion down the middle: traditionalists and relentless detractors on the one side and every bit as passionate supporters on the other. Thanks to the controversy and alterations made by the architect, the costs have also shot up from the initial 72 million dollars to the present 160 million. The fate of the project will be decided by 16 September, the date set for a meeting of the board of directors. E.S.