A Name to Know: Architect David Adjaye

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This is a baaaaaad man. From The Stimulist:

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Stefon Diggs and Cardi B Viral Boat Video Prompts Response from Patriots Coach
Stefon Diggs and Cardi B Viral Boat Video Prompts Response from Patriots Coach

AGE: 42 JOB: Architect WHY YOU CARE: Because a National Museum of African American History will redefine Washingtonโ€™s National Mall โ€” and the African architect redefining modern architecture is building it.

Letโ€™s be frank. When most people think of โ€œstarchitects,โ€ white faces come to mind. In a field traditionally dominated by Western Europeans, West African architect David Adjaye is a bit of an exception. Heโ€™s also downright exceptional. When the New York Times reported on April 15th that Adjaye had been chosen to design Americaโ€™s first-ever National Museum of African American History, we were overjoyedโ€”and unsurprised.

We noted Adjaye on this site last month as one of the architects Brad Pitt chose to design houses for Katrina survivors in New Orleans. His resume includes the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, the Idea Stores in London, homes for actor Ewan McGregor and designer Alexander McQueen, among others. But itโ€™s the Museum of African American History that Adjaye, the son of a Ghanaian diplomat, describes as โ€œthe dream of his career.โ€ As he so eloquently put it to the Financial Times, โ€œThis is an incredibly loaded site: it was once occupied by a slave market and the Mall itself was built by slaves. This was never a building about a single moment or an icon, but a building about a movement, about celebrating a journey and looking towards the future.โ€

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