David Adjaye is a British architect and is the principal of Adjaye associates. A graduate of the Royal College of Art, London, he established his architecture studio in 2000 which has since grown significantly. He is working on large scale projects all around the world.

Early Life & Career

Adjaye was born in Tanzania in 1966, he is the son of a Ghanaian diplomat and lived in a number of different cities across the continent of Africa including Tanzania, Egypt, Yemen and Lebanon until settling in London at the age of thirteen.

After gaining a B.Arch. from London South Bank University, he graduated with a Master's degree in Architecture from the Royal College of Art in 1993, where he won the RIBA Bronze Medal.

After very short terms of work with the architectural studios of David Chipperfield (London) and Eduardo Souto de Moura (Porto), Adjaye established a practice with William Russell in 1994 called Adjaye & Russell, based in North London. This office was disbanded in 2000 and Adjaye established his own eponymous studio at this point.

Design Approach

Adjaye's approach to design demonstrates an understanding of context, each building respects the cultural and architectural integration within the existing locale. Something which he believes can be attributed to his upbringing.

David Adjaye's belief in working together with artists and other cultural thinkers has led to a number of notable collaborations on both building projects as well as exhibitions, which include: the Richard Avedon exhibition at New York's Gagosian Gallery in 2012; Olafur Eliasson's "Your Black Horizon" light installation at the 51st Venice Biennale in 2005.

Recognition

He was awarded the OBE for services to architecture in 2007 and received the Design Miami/ Year of the Artist title in 2011.

The architects most notable projects include the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo and the National Museum of African-American History at The Smithsonian, which is currently under construction.