Smithsonian scales back London plans at Olympicopolis

The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC has scaled down plans to set up a London base. It had been considering an ambitious venture to establish an outpost in a new cultural quarter on the site of the 2012 Olympic Games in Stratford, east London—dubbed Olympicopolis. Instead the Smithsonian is now going for a more modest scheme, using space in the Victoria & Albert Museum’s new building, which will be known as V&A East.On 13 June, the Smithsonian’s secretary Davi