Thinking In Public

Architect Sir David Adjaye OBE examines the idea of the monument and presents his thinking on how architecture and form are used as storytelling devices

In February, my new exhibition David Adjaye: Making Memory opened at the Design Museum in London. The show is a response to an invitation I received from the Design Museum’s directors ‘to think in public’ about a theme of my choice — the role of making contemporary monuments and memorials. This has allowed me to think critically about the form of memorialisation and to explore some of the deeper meanings shared between a series of my projects.

My approach to designing monuments and memorials, what I provocatively termed Making Memory, is born out of a desire to make architecture that is representative of our collective consciousness. I believe the 21st century provides an opportunity to remake the role of monuments and memorials from static objects to dynamic spaces. Architecture, for me, always has the potential to reflect an experience of time and place. The exhibition threads together seven of my built and ongoing projects that speak to this notion of monuments and memorials. They show the evolution of my architecture across a decade, from a small pavilion in London to the landmark structure of the National Cathedral in Accra. Each project is given its own dedicated room within a large gallery. The walls are painted dark grey with atmospheric spot lighting to make an exhibition focusing on slowing down. We designed and curated the show so that each space varies in tone to reflect the different nature and diverse subjects of the projects. This curatorial approach reflects one of my own methods of design — animating difference rather than homogenising it.