Phenomenal Buildings

Son of a Ghanaian diplomat, Sir David Adjaye OBE was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

- Sir David Adjaye

Following his passion for Architecture, he completed his BA in Architecture from London South Bank University in 1990, and thereby his MA from the Royal College of Art in 1993. Showing early signs of excellence, during his undergraduate education years, Adjaye got nominated for the RIBA President’s Medals, and also won the RIBA Bronze Medal for the best design project produced at BA level worldwide. In 1993, Sir David won the RIBA President’s Medals Students Award.

After a short term of work with the architectural studios of David Chipperfield (London) and Eduardo Souto de Moura (Porto), Sir David went on to establish a practice with William russell in 1994 called Adjaye & Russell, based in North London. In 2000, he established his own studio, Adjaye Associates.

The studio’s first solo exhibition, David Adjaye: Making Public Buildings, got displayed at the Whitechapel Gallery in London in January 2006, with Thames and Hudson publishing the catalogue of the same name. This followed publication of Sir David’s first book, David Adjaye Houses.

From temporary installations to museums to galleries and university campuses, Adjaye Assocaites’ projects throughout the globe are unified by their ability to offer a rich civic experience and to reference a wide cultural discourse. Receiving ever-increasing worldwide attention, the firm now has offices in London, New York and has completed work in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Sir David and his team have increasingly focused on projects with an enriching social agenda, such as the Idea Stores (2004/2005), a library/community center in two London neighborhoods whose light, airy spaces were vibrant and attractive, the Nobel Peace Centre in the shell of a disused railway station in Oslo (2005), among others.