It will cost at least £45 million and, with its dramatic design by Kengo Kuma inspired by the sandstone cliffs of north-east Scotland, the new V&A in Dundee will utterly transform the city's waterfront and skyline.

But what will be within the building, which will open in 2017? Today we can report that much of the space inside the building is for travelling and temporary "blockbuster" exhibitions from the V&A in London and elsewhere.

But key to the appeal of the new museum will be its permanent exhibition of Scottish innovative design. This gallery, covering more than 500 years of Scottish graft, talent and innovation, will feature glass, metal, textiles, ceramics, fashion and technology. The objects will bear the stamp of the nation's guile, wit and sense of aesthetic adventure.

But the show will not only be an archive of treasures past. Philip Long, director of this ambitious new presence on the cultural scene, wants these exhibits to sow the seeds of ambition in Scottish designers. The V&A in London has 17,000 Scottish items in its stores. What a boon it is that these can now be made available for public view, education and stimulation.