David Adjaye has made a career out of creating inspiring, forward-looking architecture. But can he continue to make waves as society faces an increasingly uncertain future?
When it comes to unsettling quotes, “I think we are all being pulled through an experiment,” is one that really sticks in the mind. It is all the more unnerving when it is said in the calmest, most measured of timbres by one of the planet’s most respected architects.
David Adjaye is, of course, referring to the current state of the world. That “experiment” is an increasingly global move away from the political status quo. But his biggest worry? “No-one seems to know the end game.” From Brexit to Trump and from anti-establishment uprisings to the threat of nationalism, these are profoundly “interesting” times and it is inevitable that everyone will have their two cents worth. But not everyone is as well placed to comment.
For more than 20 years the Ghanaian-British architect has been driving social progression through design. He is known for fusing architecture with culture, history and community. From east London to New York and beyond, the founder of Adjaye Associates has used his projects to try to remind us of past mistakes while paving the way to a more cohesive future.
There is no greater example of this than his National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington DC, which was opened in September by US president Barack Obama.
Just over two months on and the US political landscape looks very different. On that, Adjaye is reticent – though he does admit he did not sleep the night before Donald Trump’s election victory. But on the subject of a wider political shift, what does he think the impact of a possible move away from globalisation could mean for the future of design? And with a fresh focus on London and a new mega-scheme in San Francisco on the horizon, how does an architect famous for encouraging society to look forward continue to inspire confidence when the future looks so uncertain?
Great responsibility
It is a tough gig, but one the 50-year-old sees as a duty. “To hold a public job like this comes with real responsibility,” says Adjaye, sitting in his London HQ on Old Marylebone Road, NW1.
“As architects, we are stewards and I think our success comes when we are able to take current issues and translate them into future designs. We have to keep going. We have to look ahead. It is not an easy job right now. But then I have never gone for easy jobs.”
Indeed, throughout his career – including the creation of the Idea Stores in Tower Hamlets back in 2002, where he designed a series of reimagined libraries to inspire communities in east London – Adjaye has embraced what he calls “the wrestle” that gets him out of bed in the morning. “I love it,” he smiles. “Working out how to transform history and narrative into ideas about placemaking, architecture, form and landscape.”
He is confident he will be able to continue to do this against the backdrop of an erratic social, political and economic landscape for two reasons. Firstly, because of the powerful role technology will play in forcing us forwards: “I don’t think that the rise of nationalism is affecting global business in the way people think. Mainly because we are moving into a world where we just can’t be isolationist anymore. We will always be connected because technology connects us.”
And secondly because this period of global volatility has coincided with a time when he has never felt more sure of his own work. And that, he says, has given him the traction he needs to carry on inspiring through design in uncertain times – developer buy in.
Self-belief
“I am now at my most self-assured about my ideas,” he says. “It is no longer just me believing in something, which is where I was 15 years ago. Now what I want to achieve is backed up by experience and we have suddenly come to the attention of developers as people they can work with. We are no longer just seen as cultural architects but city building designers.”
US developer FivePoint certainly thinks so. It was announced in October that Adjaye Associates will be the masterplan architect on its $15bn (£12bn), 600-acre Navy Yards regeneration scheme in San Francisco, set to be one of the largest developments on the West Coast.
A mixed-use scheme including 5m sq ft of commercial space, 12,000 new homes and public infrastructure, it is the first time the practice has taken on anything so big or so commercial.
“We are forming the masterplan now,” says Adjaye, who has six of his New York team currently working on the project. “We will have a huge commercial and residential community so I also want to create a series of quiet, landscaped spaces. And this site has a layered history. It is the place where the largest African American community was once employed by the federal government. So I can use the design to tackle those issues and bring meaning to them through what we are doing.
“It is a great way for us to show what we can do by bringing our cultural skills to the commercial sector.”
And this, he hopes, will help the practice extend its reach in the city he is focusing on for the foreseeable future: London.
London focus
“We are really concentrating on being more present in London,” says Adjaye. “This is our HQ. This is our immediate view.”
He adds that the UK capital is the envy of cities all over the world.
“What London used to be criticised for, that patchwork of different areas that come together to create this giant mosaic, has become the very thing that people admire it for,” says Adjaye. “That 1970s idea of separating out programmes and functions – so a culture district here, a satellite for resi there – doesn’t really work, and it is a lesson other places are learning.
“You can see particularly in America now there is a shift to embrace work, live, play. That idea of not separating things out but for areas to operate well as independent hubs that feed in to the bigger city has always been a strong dynamic in London. And that is partially what makes it such a model city now.”
Adjaye Associates is currently working on a number of projects across the capital.
The Hackney Fashion Hub, E9, is a jv between Manhattan Loft Corporation and Chatham Works and sees Adjaye oversee the redevelopment of Victorian railway arches on Morning Lane and two new buildings at Chatham Place to create more than 6,000 sq ft of shops, as well as design studios, galleries and a café.
Designs for a mixed-use building on Strand, WC2, which will create 62,000 sq ft of offices, 26 flats and ground-floor shops, were submitted last month after Alchemi Group appointed Adjaye on behalf of landowner BlackRock Real Estate. It will replace a 1982 office block that is currently home to Land Securities’ head office.
And perhaps the biggest coup for the practice is the £600m One Berkeley Street scheme, W1, for Crosstree Real Estate Management. The redevelopment of 70-73 Piccadilly, 1 and 3 Berkeley Street, and 43-48 Dover Street will create a 484,000 sq ft, 10-storey building housing a hotel and flats alongside new shops and a public square in Dover Yard.
Lucy Tilley, associate director at Adjaye Associates, says: “For us to do something in such a historical context off Piccadilly was quite amazing. What is really nice is it’s a whole urban plot, not just an infill, which is very rare. I think it is one of the only ones in Mayfair.”
Developer shift
As a final point, Adjaye is keen to highlight that the strengthening relationship between his practice and developers – both in the UK and overseas – is not being led solely by the changing nature of his projects and growing reputation as a commercial architect.
“There has definitely been a shift from the developers themselves,” he says. “They now have much more of an understanding of their sense of responsibility and the fact that they are making decisions that will affect communities.
“It helps that it is considered value added now there is much more community participation and stakeholder awareness. People are more interested in architecture and I think developers have realised they can’t just do exactly what they want anymore. They have to think about what they are contributing. That is really, really good. It is no longer just scientific and economic, it’s cultural. And that’s kind of my whole thing.”
Global reach
Adjaye Associates has an impressive global reach for a practice of its size. It may have offices in London, New York and Accra, but the fact that a team of around 100 has completed works in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Asia and Africa is noteworthy, especially when you consider that Adjaye himself has a hand in every project.
Lucy Tilley, associate director of Adjaye Associates’ UK and global projects (pictured right with Adjaye), explains how it works. “The concept and the sketch will come from him and people who have worked with him for a long time are able to deliver that vision,” she says.
Tilley is one of those people. Having worked alongside Adjaye for 22 years, it is safe to say she shares his ambition to create spaces that will change or regenerate; that will make a difference.
“We put our heart and soul into our buildings, whether they are in Mayfair or Tower Hamlets,” she says. “They have to be special. They have to influence the people that are going to experience them.”
She is currently working on the £600m One Berkeley Street, W1, for Crosstree Real Estate Management, alongside the Hackney Regeneration Project, to create a new urban destination between Hackney Central Station and the end of the Morning Lane Arches.
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