Photo: Ed Reeve

Sir David Adjaye OBE, the architect behind the National Museum of African American History and Culture, is the 2018 recipient of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Architecture.

Adjaye is recognized as a leading architect of his generation. Born in Tanzania to Ghanaian parents, his influences range from contemporary art, music and science to African art forms and the civic life of cities.

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. The firm now has offices in London, New York and Accra, Ghana, with projects in the U.S., U.K., Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Photo: David Adjaye Associates

His largest project to date, the $540 million Smithsonian Institute National Museum of African American History and Culture, opened on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in fall of 2016; its debut was named Cultural Event of the Year by the New York Times.

Photo: David Adjaye Associates
 
In 2017, Adjaye was knighted by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II for services to architecture, following his 2007 award of admittance to the Order of the British Empire. Also in 2017, he was recognized as one of the 100 most influential people of the year by TIME magazine. He has additionally received the Design Miami/Artist of the Year title in 2011, the Wall Street Journal Innovator Award in 2013 and the 2016 Panerai London Design Medal from the London Design Festival.
“Named among TIME’s 100 most influential people in the world and knighted by the Queen for his contributions to architecture, Sir David Adjaye is one of the most prominent and truly creative designers of his generation,” School of Architecture Dean Ila Berman said. “As the lead architect for the award-winning Smithsonian Institute National Museum of African American History and Culture located on the Mall in Washington D.C., he has enabled architecture, through its strong symbolic and physical presence, to embody and give a voice to histories that have remained buried for many years since the founding of this nation. Monolithic and monumental, yet as ephemeral as a materialized shadow, this work is an astounding and sublime jewel – a long-awaited treasure for the nation as a whole.”

Adjaye will give a public talk on April 13 at 4:00 p.m. in the Old Cabell Hall Auditorium.

Read the full announcement by UVA Communications here.

On the anniversary of Thomas Jefferson’s birthday, April 13 (known locally as Founder’s Day), the University of Virginia and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello join together to present the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals to recognize achievements of those who embrace endeavors in which Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence and third U.S. president, excelled and held in high regard. These medals are the highest external honors bestowed by the University of Virginia, which grants no honorary degrees.