First black architect to receive the Royal Medal: David Adjaye

The Ghana-born British architect made a name for himself when he signed the Smithsonian Museum's National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington DC during the Barack Obama era.

Now, he is on the agenda with a research report in the Financial Times.

He is accused of sexual harassment by three women working in the architecture office.

As a first reaction, David Adjaye denied the charges through his lawyer.

Immediately after, he said that he mixed his private life with his business life and that he should act more professionally in his business life, and he apologized to the people he disappointed and announced that he would start getting professional help in this regard.

In this case, of course, no matter how much he denies the accusations, he inevitably attracts self-doubt.

Sir David Frank Adjaye (born 22 September 1966) is a Ghanaian-British architect. He is known for having designed many notable buildings around the world, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Adjaye was knighted in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to architecture. He is the recipient of the 2021 Royal Gold Medal, making him the first African recipient and one of the youngest recipients. He was appointed to the Order of Merit in 2022.

Not to mention that the three women who made the accusation, who did not want to reveal their names, had similar characteristics and made similar statements.

After the Financial Times reported, David Adjaye had to resign from his position as an architectural consultant to the City of London.

Work on the Holocaust Memorial, which was also planned to be built in London, was also suspended.

While reading the Financial Times research, the latest version of Harvey Weinstein came to my mind involuntarily.

Of course, it was inevitable that he would once be a producer who directed Hollywood and was chasing after all the stars, but now he would come across as a weakened and sick man in prison.

As in Hollywood with Harvey Weinstein and in business and politics with Jeffrey Epstein, many sexual harassment cases came to the fore in the fashion world.

The careers of many star names ended because of this.

Now, for the first time in architecture, such a serious accusation is made against a star architect.

Moreover, this architect has been recognized and appreciated as the pride of Africans and blacks until now.

Now, the three black women who made the accusations underline that David Adjaye humiliated black women in their statements.

Not only is it a toxic work environment, but there is also information that sexual harassment continues in public places.

Of course, not only architects and designers, but the whole world will follow this case with interest.

In this case, it seems difficult for David Adjaye not to fall into the situation of Harvey Weinstein.

Interesting details from his life story

Knighted in 2017 for his services to architecture, Adjaye is the architect of projects such as the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Idea Store Whitechapel in London. Adjaye Associates currently works at the Ghana National Cathedral in Accra, where it has offices. Adjaye had become known for housing projects such as Hackney's Dirty House. Housing projects range from Sugar Hill, an affordable housing development in Harlem, to a 66-story skyscraper set to be built in Manhattan.

With a viewpoint of protest against the wrongs of architecture's white supremacy and climate change, Adjaye has designed monuments dedicated to important black figures, including a memorial pavilion for trumpeter and anti-apartheid activist Hugh Masekela in Johannesburg. He built the Stephen Lawrence Center in London, an educational facility built in memory of a young black architect killed in a racially motivated attack. He is currently working on a memorial in Brixton for Cherry Groce, a black woman who was shot by police in her home in 1985.

Education and Vocational Education

1988-1990: Chassay + Last, London, UK Kingdome

1990: Bachelor of Architecture with honors, London South Bank University

1990-1991: David Chipperfield (England) and Eduardo Souto de Moura (Portugal)

1993: Master of Architecture, Royal College of Art

1994-2000: Partnership with William Russell with Adjaye & Russell

1999-2010: Visited every country in Africa to document African architecture

2000 - Adjaye Associates

Important works:

2002: Dirty House, London, England

2005: Idea Store, Whitechapel, London, England

2005: Nobel Peace Center, Oslo, Norway

2007: Rivington Place, London, England

2007: Bernie Grant Arts Centre, London, England

2007: Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, CO

2008: Stephen Lawrence Centre, London, UK

2010: Skolkovo Moscow Management School, Moscow, Russia

2012: Francis Gregory Library, Washington, DC

2014: Sugar Hill (affordable housing), 898 St. Nicholas Avenue, Harlem, NYC

2015: Aishti Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon

2016: Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), Washington, DC

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https://www.adjaye.com/