David Adjaye is the recipient of the Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 2021. British-Ghanaian, he is the first black architect to receive this award since the establishment of the institution in 1834 in London. It is one of the highest differences in the world of architecture.
To David Adjaye in particular, we owe quite a symbol to the National Museum of Afro-American History and Culture, inaugurated four years ago in Washington.
The gold medal of Royal Institute of British Architectsawarded in recognition of the work of a lifetime, given to a person or group of persons who have had a significant influence “directly or indirectly on advances in architecture”. Adjaye thus joins the pantheon with gold medal winners such as Frank Lloyd Wright (1941), Kenzō Tange (1965), Rem Koolhaas (2004) or Zaha Hadid (2016).
Among his influences is African art
When the Royal Institute named the new winner this week, it praised the Royal Adjay’s exceptional work and underlined his many influences: “contemporary art, music and science to African art forms and city life. taught at prestigious schools of architecture in the United Kingdom and the United States, and was a professor at Harvard, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Princeton.
Among his most famous achievements: the IdeaStore Library in London (2005), the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo (2005), the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver (2008), a leadership school in Moscow (2010), the Aïshtià Foundation Beirut (2015), but also the AlaraConcept Store in Lagos (2016) and an art center in San Antonio, Texas (2019).
Not to mention his recent projects under construction, including a skyscraper in Manhattan and Ghana National Cathedral in the heart of Accra. With his varied, rich and contrasting style, he has won projects all over the world for 25 years. His architectural firm, AdjayeAssociates, has offices in London, New York and Accra.
“Create beauty”
To this day, he lives on horses on several continents, as always since childhood. David Adjaye, 54, was born in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, to Ghanaian parents, then followed his diplomatic father to Egypt, Yemen. , Lebanon and up to the United Kingdom.
This is where DavidAdjayea landed as a teenager and was able to study at the RoyalCollegeof Art before jumping into it. “Sir” DavidAdjay must be said when the Queen of England knighted him three years ago for “services rendered to architecture”.
Following the announcement of the Royal Gold Medal in 2021, he said: “For me, architecture has always been about creating beauty with buildings for all people in the world equally and contributing to the development of this art. The social influence of this discipline has been and will continue to be the guiding force that governs my practice and experiences in this field. ”
.
