1. Sir David Frank Adjaye was born on 22 September 1966 and is a Ghanaian-British architect who has designed many notable buildings around the world, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.
37 Facts About David Adjaye
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David Adjaye received the 2021 Royal Gold Medal, making him the first African recipient and one of the youngest recipients.
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David Adjaye was appointed to the Order of Merit in 2022.
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David Adjaye then moved on to larger scale projects such as the Idea Store in Whitechapel, UK, and the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway, in 2005.
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The studio's first solo exhibition, David Adjaye: Making Public Buildings, was shown at the Whitechapel Gallery in London in January 2006, with Thames and Hudson publishing the catalogue of the same name.
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David Adjaye was selected to design the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, which opened in 2007.
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David Adjaye won a competition to design the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo which was completed in 2010.
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David Adjaye's design marries art viewing with shopping, two seemingly conflicting experiences.
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On 15 April 2009, David Adjaye was selected lead architect for the team of architects, which includes the Freelon Group, Davis Brody Bond and SmithGroup, to design the new $540 million National Museum of African American History and Culture, a Smithsonian Institution museum, on the National Mall in Washington, DC His design features a crown motif from Yoruba sculpture.
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Furniture that David Adjaye designed for the museum is manufactured and sold by Knoll.
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David Adjaye built homes for the designer Alexander McQueen, artist Jake Chapman, photographer Jurgen Teller, actor Ewan McGregor, and artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster.
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David Adjaye is known for his collaborations with contemporary artists on installations and exhibitions.
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David Adjaye worked with Ofili to create an environment for The Upper Room, which was later acquired by Tate Britain and caused a nationwide media debate.
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David Adjaye collaborated with artist Olafur Eliasson to create a light installation, Your black horizon, at the 2005 Venice Biennale.
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David Adjaye has worked on the art project Sankalpa with director Shekhar Kapur.
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In May 2019, the Ghana Freedom Pavilion - designed by David Adjaye - was inaugurated at the 58th Venice Art Biennale.
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David Adjaye designed the 56th Venice Art Biennale with the late curator Okwui Enwezor; the River Reading Room for the Gwangju Biennale; and the Sclera Pavilion for the London Design Festival.
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David Adjaye co-authored two seasons of the BBC's Dreamspaces television series and hosts a BBC radio programme.
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In 2015, David Adjaye was commissioned to design a new home for the Studio Museum in Harlem.
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In September 2020, David Adjaye unveiled his designs for the Princeton University Art Museum.
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In November 2020, David Adjaye revealed his vision for the Museum of West African Art which will be built in Benin City, Nigeria.
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David Adjaye Associates' building will house historic art and artefacts as well as incorporate galleries dedicated to contemporary arts.
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In 2021, David Adjaye revealed his design for the District Hospitals project across Ghana, Accra and The Africa Institute in Sharjah, UAE.
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In October 2022, Grinnell College Board of Trustees approved construction of the new Civic Engagement Quad Core Project designed by David Adjaye, slated to open in fall 2024.
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David Adjaye was named the executive chair of the group and remains as principal architect of the firm leading design direction.
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David Adjaye did apologise for what he called "mistakes" where he had "blurred the boundaries" between his professional and personal lives.
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David Adjaye's commissioned an independent workplace review from a leading employment KC following the complaints and have publicly said that they have made significant changes including restructuring the firm's governance with the stated intention of becoming an exceptional workplace.
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David Adjaye was the first Louis Kahn visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and was the Kenzo Tange Professor in Architecture at Harvard Graduate School of Design.
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David Adjaye is a member of the Advisory Council of the Barcelona Institute of Architecture and serves as member of the Advisory Boards of the Barcelona Institute of Architecture and the LSE Cities Programme.
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David Adjaye is a younger brother of stem cell scientist James Adjaye.
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In January 2014, David Adjaye married Ashley Shaw-Scott in London's St Paul's Cathedral.
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David Adjaye has worked on numerous collaborative projects with his brother Peter David Adjaye, a musician.
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In 2006, David Adjaye was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize for the Whitechapel Idea Store, built on the remains of a 1960s mall.
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David Adjaye was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2007 for services to British architecture.
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David Adjaye was knighted in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to architecture.
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In 2018, David Adjaye received the Washington University International Humanities Medal.
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In October 2020 David Adjaye was announced as the RIBA Royal Gold Medal winner for 2021, awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture.