David Adjaye at the November Talks:
He grew up in completely opposite worlds – born in Tanzania as the son of a diplomat, moved to Egypt, Yemen, and Lebanon, and then transplanted to London. He actually wanted to be an artist and now he is regarded as a great talent of the English architecture scene: David Adjaye concluded the November Talks 2011 in Graz with his expert lecture on 12 December 2011. The banquet room of the Technical University of Graz was full and the 38-year old architect, who teaches at Princeton University and was chosen as Designer of the Year 2011 in Miami, talked about his projects and his profound thoughts on contemporary architecture. The November Talks took place in Austria for the first time. The series of lectures is financed by the Sto Foundation.
Architecture that resolves contradictions
Adjyae's projects are also characterised by opposites: from daring museum buildings to sculptural, stubborn residential buildings, from the staging of public life in a timber exhibition stand to non-profit flats for socially underprivileged families: “I am interested in how people and cities handle each other.” In his new book, he exclusively looks at Africa: “Adjaye Africa Architecture” tells the architectural history of a continent in 6 chapters.
Elmina College, Ghana: challenges in a subtropical climate
The Elmina college project marks Adjaye's transition from smaller projects to his work on large-scale urban structures. The Elmina College in Ghana is an important local education centre. The dominant roofscape of the new building complex ensures perfect integration into the surrounding vegetation. The design also has a functional side effect: it cleverly combines aesthetic appeal with cooling – the performative aspect of buildings is fundamental in a subtropical climate.
Moscow School of Management Skolkovo: setting a precedent with daring shapes
A new squad of managers is leading Russia into the 21st century – the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo trains them. Adjaye's daring architecture presents a balancing act of four geometric blocks with coarsely pixelated, shimmering facades, hovering in a precarious balance on a cylindrical base. The four building elements house the administration, a catering centre, a hotel, and lodgings for the students. Generous skylights in the roof terrace illuminate the rooms below. The building combines traditional campus life with an eccentric aesthetic appeal which adapts to the green surroundings as well as to the frosty landscape of the long winters.
Smithsonian NMAAHC, Washington: building bridges between two continents
Architecture is the manifestation of the highest ideals of a culture – in the case of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History, two cultures have to be integrated. Majestic and yet infused with tradition, simple and yet triumphant, African and yet distinctly American: that is how the finished museum building will be presenting itself in 2015. This assignment additionally presents lead designer Adjaye with a very delicate challenge: the museum is located directly near the White House – in a top security area. Lines of sight and visual axes therefore have to be integrated into the concept very carefully.