A multi-level maze will be built in the V&A grounds for London Design Festival

Visitors to the V&A will be led on “a merry dance” through a multi-level maze built in the grounds of the museum for the London Design ­Festival.

The 3D structure, which will be installed in the Sackler Courtyard of the building in South Kensington, is made up of panels of American tulipwood which can be taken apart and reassembled after the event ends.

Architect Andrew Waugh said the structure, called MultiPly, would “provide previously unseen framed glimpses of the V&A and the courtyard below”. He said: “The structure will lead people a merry dance up and down staircases and across bridges exploring space and light.”

The V&A, which is one of the major partners for the festival, will host other installations and events and also become home to a prototype for a new fountain designed to reduce disposable plastic bottle use by providing free drinking water. Its director Tristram Hunt said: “This year’s programme is bigger and more ambitious than ever, and presents a unique opportunity for leading designers to engage with and respond to the V&A’s world-class collections of art, design and performance.

“London Design Festival occupies a vital role in London’s thriving design sector, reaffirming London’s position as one of the world’s leading global design capitals.”

Other exhibits include 26 Alphabet Chairs, each painted a different colour, which will be installed at Broadgate.

The festival, which runs from September 15 to 23, will also see work go on show in a series of design districts including Fitzrovia, Bankside, Mayfair, Pimlico and Shoreditch.

Last year’s festival pulled in 450,000 visitors from more than 75 countries who saw installations including an inflatable design at Broadgate and an “urban cabin” micro-house on the South Bank.

For further information go to londondesignfestival.com