Renowned Ghanaian-British architect, David Adjaye, has been honoured with a knighthood for his services to architecture, as part of Queen Elizabeth’s biannual honours programme.
Sir David Adjaye received his award from Prince William, Duke of Cambridge at the official ceremony held at Buckingham Palace.
Commenting on the knighthood, David Adjaye said he was “deeply honoured and delighted to have received a knighthood for my contribution to architecture, and absolutely thrilled to be recognized for a role that I consider a pleasure to be able to undertake.”
“I would like to thank Her Majesty the Queen for this incredible privilege, which I see as a celebration of the potential architecture has to effect positive social change.”
David Adjaye’s knighthood follows two previous royal awards; the 2016 Queen’s Birthday Honours in October 2016, and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2007.
The past 12 months saw David Adjaye make history with the opening of his Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
He is also working on the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art, Ghana National Museum on Slavery and Freedom and a new home for the Studio Museum in Harlem.
In an official statement The Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood at St. James’s Palace said:
“David Adjaye is recognized for his contribution to architecture and design. He is one of the leading architects of his generation and a global cultural ambassador for the UK. His designs include the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo in the shell of a disused railway station and the Whitechapel Idea Store in London where he also pioneered a new approach to the provision of information services as well as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver and numerous private commissions. His most recent major achievement was the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC.”
More about David Adjaye
Adjaye was born in Tanzania to Ghanaian parents. In 1994, he set up his first office, where his ingenious use of materials and his sculptural ability established him as an architect with an artist’s sensibility and vision.
He reformed his studio as Adjaye Associates in 2000, and immediately won several prestigious commissions all around the world.
Adjaye Associates now has offices in London and New York, with projects throughout the world. These include the Aishti Foundation shopping and cultural complex in Beirut (2015), the Alara concept store in Lagos (2014), and a new headquarters building for the International Finance Corporation in Dakar.
In September 2016, the architect celebrated his 50th birthday and completed the largest project in his career to date – the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History & Culture on Washington DC’s National Mall.
Adjaye has taught at the Royal College of Art, where he had previously studied, and at the Architectural Association School in London, and has held distinguished professorships at the universities of Pennsylvania, Yale and Princeton. He is currently the John C. Portman Design Critic in Architecture at Harvard.
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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana