Sir David Adjaye, OBE, is recognized as a leading architect of his generation. Born in Tanzania to Ghanaian parents, his broadly ranging influences, ingenious use of materials and sculptural ability have established him as an architect with an artist’s sensibility and vision. In 2000, he founded Adjaye Associates, which now has offices in London, New York and Accra with projects in the United States, UK, Europe, Africa, Asia and Middle East. His largest project to date, the $540-million Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African American History and Culture, opened on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the fall of 2016. The museum was named the Cultural Event of the Year by The New York Times and the Beazley Design of the Year by the Design Museum.
Other prominent completed projects include the Idea Stores in London, which were credited with pioneering a new approach to library services (2005); the Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO (2010); and the Sugar Hill mixed-use social housing scheme in Harlem, New York (2015). Ongoing projects include a new home for the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, the recently announced National Cathedral of Ghana in Accra, and the National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in London.
Adjaye has amassed numerous accolades for his visionary work, including artist of the year by Design Miami/ in 2011, The Wall Street Journal Innovator Award in 2013, and the 2016 Panerai London Design Medal from the London Design Festival. In 2017, Adjaye received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for services to architecture and was recognized as one of the 100 most influential people of the year by Time magazine.
