David Adjaye: artist book by Soo Joung Chae

DAVID ADJAYE: SPACE

Simon & Schuster New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, Singapore

DAVID ADJAYE: SPACE

Simon & Schuster New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, Singapore

Simon & Schuster Rockefeller Center 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York 10020

Simon & Schuster and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Design: Soo Joung Chae

Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Adjaye, David

David Adjaye/(insert additional title if appropriate)

p. cm.

1. Adjaye, David—Sources. 2. Adjaye, David—Notebooks, Sketches, etc. I. Title.

N6537.L54 A2 2014 709’.2—dc21 00-028026

ISBN 0-684-83417-0

Contents

10 Introduction: Bundling the Past, Present and Future 20 Project #1–Idea Store, 2004 30 Project #2–Stephan Lawrence Centre, 2007 40 Project #3–Rivington Place, 2007 50 Project #4–Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, 2007 60 Project #5–Genesis Pavilion, 2011 70 Project #6–Francis A. Gregory Library, 2012 80 Project #7–Bellevue Library, 2012 90 Bibliography

By Regina Lee Roberts, Stanford University

David Adjaye: Space

Bundling the Past, Present and Future

“Buildings are deeply emotive structures which form our psyche. People think they’re just things they manoeuvre through. But the make-up of a person is influenced by the nature of spaces“ –David Adjaye1

When studying the built environment or the archeological past we often look for clues to the ways in

which people live their lives. We search for a better understanding of the livelihood and the overall meanings that make up the human condition. Sometimes the fragments and fibers of what remains are still woven into the fabric of who we are. In the here and now, architects are acutely aware of how their structures and their designs reflect and impact society and current manifestations of the human condition. We rely on architects to have a futuristic vision while simultaneously fulfilling our immediate needs when we call upon them to design our built environments. Sometimes we require a simple space, a home base, to rest and recharge before going out in the world. Sometimes we want a space that preserves and memorializes our histories, our commitments to change, and our artistic productions. Sometimes we want a space that allows us to learn and to grow. David Adjaye, is an architect who is experienced in providing all of these types of spaces for people around the world. In each case he considers the intricate connections between the past, the present and the possible futures for his designs. He is an architect who is conscious of the livelihoods of the people who use his buildings and he incorporates appropriate references and typologies into his designs because he approaches architecture through the lens of civic, social and environmental responsibility. It is through his thoughtful combination of functionality, responsibility, artistic expression and creative imagining that his work really captivates and leaves lasting impressions on our psyche.

Introduction

David Adjaye is a brilliant and driven architect with a long list of stellar achievements and prestigious awards. His work is varied in scale and scope, ranging from private homes and art installations to civic buildings such as libraries and museums. He even works on larger urban planning designs. His work is deeply moving and contemplative. Much of this work has an intangible quality that is difficult to describe. Time and again he has created pavilions, homes, and buildings that seem to be sculpting light into form. Yet his designs do not bind light: they allow it to flow like water. It is always with a keen sense of illumination that his architectural and urban planning designs pull, stretch and layer light in ways that reflect some of Adjaye’s most important themes in his work. These themes include deep connections between use, form, materiality, elegance and reflection. In fact, many of his designs include water-reflection pools, urban gardens and semi-indoor fountains that maintain the link that these built spaces have to their natural environments. His commitment to artistic integrity, functional form and intense local research remains constant.

Among his most recent and most significant projects is Adjaye’s firm’s collaborative design of the

National Museum of African American History and Culture.2 This is essentially the crowning jewel of the string of Smithsonian museums on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.. A regal metaphor for this building is fitting because the design is infused with a crown motif from ancient Yoruba sculpture, seamlessly linking not only the past with the present, but also Africa with the African diaspora. This referencing of the past, or of other elements significant to a particular community, is a design technique found in much of Adjaye’s work. For the depth of vision embodied in such a technique, Adjaye has just been awarded Harvard University’s W. E. B. Du Bois Medal for outstanding work in the field of African and African American Studies.3 This comes on the eve of the completion of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. In an interview about this project, Adjaye explains,

David Adjaye: Space

I wanted to create this feeling of weight bearing down on you at the entrance, a powerful impression

of timber, like a great forest. In the way that cathedrals used vaults and arches to make people feel the immensity of the space, I’m trying for something with a different effect—I want the architecture to make you feel the weight of an enormous body of history, which you will then go in and explore.4

Throughout Adjaye’s body of work, it is clear that he pays attention to how the built environment func-

tions as a narrative of social conditions and how, in turn, society influences the built environment. Okwui Enwezor, a renowned art critic, curator and director of Haus der Kunst in Munich, Germany, writes:

David Adjaye’s work has become increasingly located in what I would call the intermediary zone

between public space and civil society…. For Adjaye public space is always contingent, always in the process of realization…. As an architect this pushes Adjaye towards elaborating within his buildings a “third space,” a kind of illusionary and concrete zone of maximum interaction and social discourse between publics, individuals, communities, experts and non-experts.5

Here, Enwezor is referencing some of Adjaye’s earlier public projects including the Nobel Peace Centre

in Oslo, Norway.6 This was completed in 2005, and consisted of a remodel of a shell of a disused railway station. For inspiration, Adjaye drew upon Dogon building techniques of Mali that envision multiple unique spaces within one larger domain. In the Nobel Peace Centre, Adjaye created immersive spaces and multiple thresholds that employ intense color and unique flexible lighting correlating to the visitor’s exhibit experience. Likewise, each threshold has its own distinctive space within the larger complex. Enwezor calls attention to these thresholds or “third spaces” because they are liminal spaces designed to evoke human emotion. The effect is an environment that juxtaposes the tensions between peace and conflict and what it means to address civil society and strive towards peace. Enwezor not only an art critic, but a curator of contemporary art, has been appointed the artistic director of the 56th Venice Art Biennale in 2015. For this exhibit, Enwezor has chosen Adjaye to assist him with the design, structure and appearance of this exhibition. The Venice Art Biennale is Europe’s oldest contemporary art exhibition and one of the largest exhibits in the world.7 Adjaye’s early work, building houses for artists and art collectors, prepared him well for this commission.

Introduction

Adjaye is also well known for his ability to work well with partners and stakeholders for designing civic

buildings. For example, in London, the Whitechapel Idea Store8 re-imagines libraries as a marketplace for ideas. This approach to community space and the provision of libraries and information services shifts the focus from a space that simply allows public access to one that is truly of the public. Since Whitechapel, Adjaye has worked on several other libraries in the United States and another Idea Store in London. Even though each building is contingent on its location and the surrounding references that make it unique, critic Saskia Sassen is correct to point out a distinct character of Adjaye’s walls which invites a specific discourse of public spaces.

She writes: If the wall does indeed function as such a borderland rather than a borderline, then the par-

ticular materials, the visual experience, the sensory experience, all matter because they are constituting a sort of third space. In the case of Adjaye’s buildings, the walls are often stunningly beautiful in their mix of precision, complexity and sensory engagement. Each of these three features can work as sites for engaging the passerby or the user of the building. The wall becomes a space that constitutes or activates public space, not what divides the inside from the outside.9

This very powerful nuance, found in such walls that dissolve boundaries, is very much at the heart of

Adjaye’s public buildings, pavilions and art installations. Even the buildings that appear to be like fortresses on the outside are transformed on the inside because of strategically placed walls, windows and unique natural lighting pathways that incorporate elements of the local natural environment. The transition from the street to the interior of his buildings is a crossing over of a “borderland,” as Sassen suggests.

The Idea Store concept, which includes the multiple use and community center spaces, a café, and

meeting rooms that co-exist within the building, serve a diverse and historically lower-income, working-class local community. It is a project that succeeds because Adjaye and his team worked closely with the community to define their needs and their vision for the space. This project has proven to be a means of renewal and great value to the community for which it was built. The building was completed in 2005, and in 2013 the library council estimated that it attracts about 700,000 visitors per year.10 It has broken down the social barriers that had impeded access to information services by making a library space more open, inclusive and supportive of life-long learning — a borderland instead of a border line.

David Adjaye: Space

Similarly, for the Francis Gregory Library in Washington, D.C.., a design using light, mirrors, reflective

material and a geometric grid was employed for the exterior walls, allowing the building seemingly to disappear into the lush background of the wooded area of the neighborhood. In Adjaye’s lecture at the Cape Town Design Indaba Conference 2013,11 he talks about some of the considerations that went into designing this library and other public spaces for diverse communities. He describes his approach and emphasizes his commitment to researching the relationship of typologies and local narratives that drive the architectural manifestation of his buildings. He emphasizes that with technology, architects have the ability to create bespoke industrial design, that is, the ability to customize materials that would normally be limited to what can be mass-produced.12 This allows him to find ways to stay true to artistic decisions that make a space enjoyable and usable, while still conforming to civic considerations.

This discussion of only a few of David Adjaye’s work barely scratches the surface of the array of what

he as accomplished. With offices in London, New York, Berlin, Accra, and Shanghai, Adjaye Associates has a global perspective, with multiple projects completed and many more in the pipeline. These projects are, without exception, impressive and unique; they certainly push the boundaries of architectural design. Adjaye Associates’ work continues to inspire and encourage conversation about what modernity means to different people and in different places in the world today. Adjaye seems keen to disentangle the multiple meanings of modernity in order to remake it in ways that fill a contemporary need. As Hirsch writes, “Instead of architecture that escapes into the margin, David Adjaye looks for strategies and practices that deal with modernity at large.”13

One remarkable project that really imbues notions of modernity is the Moscow School of Management,

Skolkovo. Completed in 2010, this project is a functional interpretation of what it means to apply futuristic design to a premier institution on a grand scale. In this project, Adjaye designed a whole ecosystem of buildings that function both as an educational/research institution and as a conference center. The structure is elevated in such a way as to appear to be floating, as if a giant hand could reach out of the sky and spin it like a dial.

Adjaye formed his firm, Adjaye Associates, in 2000. The Associates successfully weathered the storm of

the global economic downturn of 2008 and 2009, and what had been Adjaye’s private practice has blossomed into a multifaceted international firm. It is no wonder that he was ranked number 1 on the PowerList 2013 of most influ-

Introduction

ential black people in the UK.14 He has also been awarded the honor of Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his outstanding work in the UK.

Adjaye clearly cares deeply about habitation projects that provide affordable housing and responsible

design. Some of these projects include the Sugar Hill Housing Project for low-income and homeless people. Located in Harlem, this project includes an early childhood education center and museum. For this project, his fee barely covered his expenses.15 In the Make it Right Project, also aimed at providing housing for the dispossessed, Adjaye volunteered his time and his plans: his work benefited victims of Hurricane Katrina, helping the people of the New Orleans 9th Ward to re-build after the disaster. 16 On a larger scale, Adjaye has shown interest in urban planning, and is currently working with Ozwald Boating and the Africa Foundation on a very large redevelopment project in Kampala, Uganda.17 The Naguru-Nakawa Project will eventually provide in excess of 3,500 residential units, a church, a school, offices, hotels, shopping malls, restaurants and leisure facilities: in short, a satellite town that will serve as a possible model to be replicated across Africa.18

Central to all of David Adjaye’s work, including collaborations with artists and designers such as Chris

Ofili, Reni Folawiyo, Duro Olowu, and others, is a focus on the people who will actually use the designs that he creates. He states: “I am ultimately interested in happiness in the built environment. I want people to be happy in the buildings and to have a sense of wonder.”19

David Adjaye’s architecture is a response to humanity and civic projects are his preference. The rigor of

his work is a process of unfolding the past while bundling it with the present with an eye to the future. Adjaye relies heavily on research and history to inspire and inform his creative ideas. These elements of contrast and translations of time and space are built into his designs. Adjaye is ever conscious of the subtle differences between spectacle and elegant functional design. The strength of his work is fundamentally enforced by his commitment to researching and understanding the human values and attachments to the possible uses and provocation of feelings that his spaces provide.

David Adjaye: Space

Footnotes

1 Allison, Peter, David Adjaye and Okwui Enwezor. David Adjaye: Making Public Buildings: Specificity, Customization, Imbrication. 1st pbk. ed. London: Thames & Hudson, 2006. p.6 2 National Museum of African American History and Culture. “NMAAHC Building Fly-Through”. http://nmaahc.si.edu/about/building. 3 Keller, Hadlely. “Harvard University’s W. E. B.

Hudson, 2006. p.9 6 Nobel Peace Centre, Oslo Norway. http://www. nobelpeacecenter.org/en/visit/ 7 Adjaye Associates. About us. http://www. adjaye.com/about/team/david-adjaye/ 8 Idea. Library Learning Information. http:// www.ideastore.co.uk/home 9 Sassen, Saskia. “Built complexity and public

Du Bois Medal for outstanding work in the

engagements”. In Allison, Peter, David Adjaye

field of African and African American Studies”.

and Okwui Enwezor. David Adjaye: Making

Architectural Digest. September 26, 2014.

Public Buildings: Specificity, Customization,

4 Tomkins, Calvin. “A Sense of Place: How the architect of Washington’s forthcoming African-American museum evolved a new

Imbrication. 1st pbk. ed. London: Thames & Hudson, 2006. p.14 10 De Peyer, Robin. “Public invited for sneak

style.” The New Yorker, Annals of Architecture,

peak of new Watney Market Idea Store.”

September 23, 2013.

The Docklands and East London Advertiser.

5 Enwezor, Okwui. “Popular sovereignty and public space: David Adjaye’s Archiecture of

January 30, 2013. 11 Adjaye, David. Talk at the Design Indaba

immanence”, in Allison, Peter, David Adjaye

Conference (2013). Video available at:

and Okwui Enwezor. David Adjaye: Making

http://www.designindaba.com/videos/con-

Public Buildings: Specificity, Customization,

ference-talks/david-adjaye-evolving-typolo-

Imbrication. 1st pbk. ed. London: Thames &

gies-architecture

Footnotes

Ibid.

13 Hirsch, Nikolaus. “Res Publica Or Just a

19 Adjaye, David. Podcast: David Adjaye on architecture and social inclusion. Hosted by Nico

Public Thing.” In Allison, Peter, David Adjaye

Daswani. August 12, 2014. http://forumblog.

and Okwui Enwezor. David Adjaye: Making

org/wp-content/uploads/arts-podcast-4-david-

Public Buildings: Specificity, Customization,

adjaye.mp3 on the World Economic Forum Blog,

Imbrication. 1st pbk. ed. London: Thames &

“Inside the Creative Mind”.

Hudson, 2006. p.16 14 Davies, Lizzy. “David Adjaye tops PowerList 2013.” The Guardian, Thursday, 25 October 2013. 15 Tomkins, Calvine. “A sense of place: How the architect of Washington‘s forthcoming African-American museum evolved a new style.” The New Yorker, Annals of Architecture, September 23,2013. 16 McCash, Doug. “New ‘Make It Right’ house design features an open-air, top-floor covered deck.” Times Picayune, May 22, 2010. 17 Carleson, Heather. “David Adjaye designs government office campus in Nakawa, Kampala.” Designboom. December 20, 2013. 18 Ibid.

pioneered by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to improve access to a wide range of information and educational facilities. To this

2004

Idea Store

The Idea Stores are the product of a concept

end, the organization of the interior is highly permeable and the circulation is organized as a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;promendade architecturalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; linking the lower levels to a cafe on the top floor. The use of identically colored glass panels on the two Idea Stores is a large-scale graphic device which reinforces their presence within the communities they serve. While sensitive to its location, the exterior of the Chrisp Street Idea Store is perceived as a single volume which can be entered with a minimum of formality, and the quality of light and extensive use of timber create a warm and inviting interior.

Idea Store 2004, London

Idea Store Idea Store 2004, London

The position of the library, and the means of reaching it, are immediately clear on entering the building at the lower level. The long, tapered section of the main space extends and compresses its apparent length, depending on whether one is looking north or south. Above the entrance space, the skyline of Canary Wharf is visible on the far side of the East India Dock Road. The use of glass on the south and east facades responds to the materiality of the shop fronts, as well as the requirements of the new building. The south facade is the most transparent, allowing the interior to be seen from the outside. On the east facade, the glass is sometimes backed by insulation and this is where bookshelves are located. The use of dark grey powder-coated panels on the north and west facades provides privacy for the housing and screens the library from the service area.

David Adjaye: Space

Idea Store Interior, 2004, London

Idea Store

Idea Store Interior, 2004, London

David Adjaye: Space

Idea Store 2004, London

Idea Store

al and a place of inspiration in honor of Stephen Lawrence, the architectural student murdered in 1993. The Centre is located in Brookmill Road, Lewisham and opened in autumn 2007. It offers services to the general population of the Lewisham area but has a unique contribution to make in relation to improving the life chances of black Caribbean and African young people. The Centre works closely with partners in the area to tackle under achievement and to increase young peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s motivation to embrace education and overcome barriers to fulfillment. The Centre comprises meeting rooms, classrooms, IT labs, offices and exhibition spaces.

2007

Stephan Lawrence Centre

The Stephen Lawrence Centre is both a memori-

Stephan Lawrence Centre 2007, London

Stephan Lawrence Centre Stephan Lawrence Centre wromâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye view, 2007, London

The height of the main volumes continues the scale of the terraced housing while the use of expanded metal mesh as a cladding material is intended to continue the light-responsive quality of the foliage in the park. The design of the ground plane is based on a drawing by the artist Chris Ofili. It is intended to encourage young people to enter the site and make use of the centre. The open forecourt, the gap between the buildings, and the elevated position of the smaller building establish a highly porous relationship between the centre and its surroundings. Two footbridges cross the river and provide access to a rejuvenated ecological and wildlife corridor alongside the Ravensbourne River. The pattern on the entrance facade is based on a drawing by Chris Ofili of a moirĂŠ pattern. The drawing is printed on a reflective film and laminated between the glass of the curtain walling system.

Stephan Lawrence Centre Interior 2007, London

David Adjaye: Space

Stephan Lawrence Centre Window Pattern 2007, London

The site has a small river to the east and a neighbourhood park to the south. It is located between two types of housing: traditional terraced houses to the west and a line of higher apartment buildings to the east. The form and materiality of the centre attempts to reconcile these contrasting conditions within a single development.

Stephan Lawrence Centre Outside view 2007, London

Stephan Lawrence Centre

Stephan Lawrence Centre Outside view 2007, London

David Adjaye: Space

Stephan Lawrence Centre

Stephan Lawrence Centre Inside 2007, London

Rivington Place

2007

Rivington Place 2007, London

Rivington Place, a new visual arts space for

set to become an important national resource as

London’s inIVA (Institute of International Visual

well as a local cultural and social hub.

Arts) designed by architect David Adjaye, is

Rivington Place is supported by a £5.9 million

nearly complete. Rivington Place celebrates the

Arts Council England Lottery Capital 2 pro-

20 year vision of two organizations: in IVA (the

gramme grant. Barclays is the Rivington Place

Institute of International Visual Arts) and Auto-

founding corporate partner, contributing £1.1m

graph ABP of establishing a permanent home to

toward the development.

profile international issues and perspectives in

Since their foundation in 1988 and 1994

contemporary art and photography and to lead

respectively, Autograph ABP and inIVA have

debate on diversity. The building, by award-win-

championed difference in the visual arts. The

ning architect David Adjaye OBE, is the first

opening exhibition, London is the Place for Me

new-build public gallery in London since the

(5 October – 24 November), looks at migration

Hayward Gallery opened in 1968. The 1,445 sq

through photography and moving image. The

m building contains two project spaces capable

exhibition will explore the presence of the many

of housing exhibitions, film screenings and talks;

different diasporic communities living in Britain

the Stuart Hall Library; an education space; a

today and will include work by Dinu Li, Keith

café; workspaces for local creative businesses

Piper, Mona Hatoum, Harold Offeh and Leticia

and the offices of inIVA and Autograph ABP. It is

Valverdes. amongst others.

Rivington Place Rivington Place 2007, London

Rivington Place Interior 2007, London

David Adjaye: Space

Rivington Place Interior 2007, London

Rivington Place

Rivington Place was the first new public gallery built in London in 40 years. The last one being the Hayward Gallery. As home to the Institute of International Visual Arts (Iniva) and Autograph APB the galleryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s purpose is to advance and promote cultural diversity in the arts. In addition to housing several gallery exhibition spaces over several floors, there are education spaces, a Library and a cafĂŠ.

Rivington Place Interior 2007, London

David Adjaye: Space

Rivington Place

Rivington Place 2007, London

2007

Museum of Contemporary Art Denver

Winning the competition to create a new building for MCA Denver, made this project Adjaye Associates’ first public commission in the US. With 20,000 square feet of exhibition, education and lecture spaces, bookshop and a roof garden area for outdoor art, the intention behind the design is for its architecture to ‘support rather than define the museum’s mission’. With no permanent collection, the museum is host to a programme of visiting exhibitions and for this reason the brief specified internal flexibility. The building acts as a receptacle whose contents are subject to considerable variation, hence the materiality of these areas is based on the use of a limited number of monochromes and textures.

Museum of Contemporary Art Denver 2007, Denver

Museum of Contemporary Art Denver

On completion, MCA Denver achieved the distinction of Gold Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED), making it the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first LEED certified contemporary art museum; pioneering sustainability and taking a leadership role in the reduction of energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and use of raw materials.

Museum of Contemporary Art Denver Store 2007, Denver

David Adjaye: Space

Museum of Contemporary Art Denver Gallery 2007, Denver

Museum of Contemporary Art Denver

Museum of Contemporary Art Denver Gallery 2007, Denver

David Adjaye: Space

Museum of Contemporary Art Denver Gallery 2007, Denver

Museum of Contemporary Art Denver

experience, Genesis is a complete environment, which integrates enclosure, aperture, views, respite, meditation and community. Like a giant piece of architectural furniture, the Design Miami/commission has enabled Adjaye to combine structure, seating, window and doors into a single gesture for the first time. The pavilion is a triangular prism measuring 10m x 10m x 10m x 3.6m, located at the entrance to the fair. It leads visitors to the courtyard space upon ar-

2011

Genesis Pavilion

Designed to provide visitors with an immersive

rival, ushering people inside. It is also the point of departure, and is a final gathering space as visitors leave the fair, with its curved window offering strategic views of the galleries. Comprising a series of timber frames that form the roof, flooring and walls, these elements work together and through compression, provide the overall structure.

Genesis Pavilion 2011, Miami

Genesis Pavilion Genesis Pavilion wormâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye view 2011, Miami

The internal space is formed by carving out an oversized ovoid shape from the centre. This distorted shape is set at an angle and abuts the perimeter to form the exit, entrance and window. The seating is established by a secondary subtraction from the interior â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which repeats the distorted ovoid, creating a platform along the cut-away timber frames. While compressed and joined together with additional filler pieces, the timber frames are not completely fused. This allows light to filter inside from the exterior and roof, providing a dynamic filigree of light and shadow. Light is further brought inside via an opening in the roof, which acts as a dramatic light well.

David Adjaye: Space

Genesis Pavilion 2011, Miami

Genesis Pavilion

Genesis Pavilion wormâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye view 2011, Miami

David Adjaye: Space

Genesis Pavilion

Genesis Pavilion 2011, Miami

Library suggests a woodland folly â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a building that is a pavilion within Fort Davis Park. Views of the park are framed from within, while the exterior of the building both reflects and complements the dense composition of trees and the striking natural environment. Viewed from the street, the building appears to flicker with the changing light, providing a lens through which to see into the park. The two-storey library provides space for three major library services: adults, teenagers and children. There is also a public meeting room and conference rooms.

2012

Francis A. Gregory Library

The sketch-like quality of the Francis Gregory

Francis A. Gregory Library 2012, Washington D.C.

Francis A. Gregory Library Francis A. Gregory Library Interior 2012, Washington D.C.

Achieving LEED Silver, the design strategy is highly sustainable, with the building taking advantage of the natural vegetation, maximizing the winter sun exposure and controlling the summer sun with a large canopy over the pavilion. The canopy welcomes the public inside, providing an effective transitional space from the street.

David Adjaye: Space

Francis A. Gregory Library Interior 2012, Washington D.C.

Francis A. Gregory Library

The structural system is articulated in the reflective geometric facade that supports the curtain wall and roof, while the network of quadrilateral openings continue inside and frame the views of the park. A number of windows are deep set to enable seating within the aperture, itself, encouraging visitors toward the perimeter of the building to reflect and enjoy the views. The material palette inside the building is largely timber â&#x20AC;&#x201C; again, resonating with the woodland setting.

Francis A. Gregory Library Interior 2012, Washington D.C.

David Adjaye: Space

Francis A. Gregory Library Interior 2012, Washington D.C.

Francis A. Gregory Library

Wrapped in a concrete and glazed skin with

tion of views across the neighborhood, and

timber fins, the envelope not only resolves

its insertion into the dramatically sloping site

structural and shading requirements, but also

topography. The challenge was also to create a

articulates the vertical presence of the building

civic building within a residential context. Rather

juxtaposed to the sloping landscape.

than a single monolithic form, the library is a cluster of geometric volumes, both elevated and grounded physically to the site. Using

2012

Bellevue Library

Bellevue Library is characterized by its celebra-

the grounded main volume to host the library central stacks and primary reading, the elevated volumes create a welcoming portico at the entrance that can be used for events and informal gatherings. The volumes mediate the scale of the building by using small, medium and large forms, derived from the libraryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s programme but also capturing the surrounding urban fabric and the site topography.

Bellevue Library 2012, Washington D.C.

Bellevue Library Bellevue Library 2012, Washington D.C.

On plan, the volumes follow the geometry of the site to form a series of identical, shifting rectangles. The arrangement maximizes the eastern exposure for filtered natural lighting, which is the primary light source. The library service areas are layered, with adults, teenage and childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s services contained within the separate volumes. The first floor contains the circulation desk, adult browsing, sights and sound, a meeting room and library staff support spaces. The second floor has additional adult browsing and children services. The third floor contains further adult, meeting rooms and teen services. The concrete staircase, taking visitors up to the higher levels, matches the incline of the street.

Bellevue Library Interior 2012, Washington D.C.

David Adjaye: Space

Bellevue Library Interior 2012, Washington D.C.

Bellevue Library

Inside the Bellevue Library, the wide-open spaces are divided by different-colored sheets of glass that reflect and distort views. Black glass hides the bathrooms on the first floor, while upstairs, dark yellow glazing hides the glare from a skylight. Through the glass partitions you can see to the other end of the library, through several sheets of glass. However, because each pane is also reflecting its surroundings, you see transparent images of the space youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in, with other reflections giving readers the feeling of being in an intimate, private room.

Bellevue Library Interior 2012, Washington D.C.

David Adjaye: Space

Bellevue Library

Bellevue Library Interior 2012, Washington D.C.

David Adjaye: Space

Bibliography

Books – Adjaye, David, and Peter Allison. 2005. David Adjaye : Houses : Recycling, Reconfiguring, Rebuilding. New York, N.Y. Thames & Hudson. – Adjaye, David, Peter Allison, Okwui Enwezor, and Whitechapel Art Gallery. 2006. David Adjaye : Making Public Buildings : Specificity, Customization, Imbrication. 1 pbk. London: Thames & Hudson. – Adjaye, David, Peter Allison, Adam Lindemann, Robert Polidori, and Lyndon Douglas. 2011. David Adjaye : A House for an Art Collector. New York: Rizzoli; New York. – Adjaye, David, Emiliano Battista, and Palais des beaux-arts. 2010. David Adjaye’s Geo-Graphics : A Map of Art Practices in Africa, Past and Present. Cinisello Balsamo, Milano: Silvana ;Brussels Belgium. – Barreneche, Raul A. 2005. Modern House Three. London: Phaidon Press. – Broadhurst, Ron. 2009. Next Houses : Architecture for the Twenty-First Century. New York: Abrams. – Bullivant, Lucy. 2005. Anglo Files : UK Architecture’s Rising Generation. London: Thames & Hudson. – Humanity, Architecture for. 2006. Design like You Give a Damn : Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises. New York, NY: Metropolis Books. – Lewis, Sarah Elizabeth, Daniel Belasco, and Site Santa Fe. 2010. The Dissolve : Eighth International Biennial Exhibition 2010. Santa Fe, N.M.: SITE Santa Fe ; New York. – Pinther, Kerstin, Larissa Förster, Christian Hanussek, Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum, IWALEWA-Haus, and Goethe-Institut. 2012. Afropolis : City Media Art. Auckland Park: Jacana.

Bibliography

Podcasts – Daswani, Nico. 2014. Podcast: David Adjaye on Architecture and Social Inclusion. Mp3. World Economic Forum, Inside the Creative Mind. Accessed September 29, 2014. http://forumblog. org/podcasts/david-adjaye-architecture-podcast-interview/ – David Adjaye, Dream Builders - Interview with Razia Iqbal - BBC World Service . 2014. Adobe Flash. Dream Builders. Accessed September 28, 2014. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/ p0242m2z.

Videos – “Africa Is an Extraordinary Opportunity at the Moment” - David Adjaye. 2013. Design Indaba 2013. Cape Town, South Africa. http://vimeo.com/62431061. – AFRITECTURE: David Adjaye Im Gespräch Mit Okwui Enwezor. 2014. München, Germany. http:// vimeo.com/83791593. – Cool Hunting Video: David Adjaye for Knoll. 2013. http://vimeo.com/73780500. – David Adjaye On How Architecture Can Bind People and Places Together. 2013. Design Indaba 2013. http://vimeo.com/63385981. – Simon, Andrea. 2010. David Adjaye: Unfolding. Arcadia Pictures. http://vimeo.com/8767068. – WSJ. Magazine 2013 Innovator Awards: Architecture. 2013.  http://www.wsj.com/ video/wsj-magazine-2013-innovator-awards-architecture/C18AB65E-532E-4E1F-95E1D6D60D63A84B.html.

David Adjaye: Space

Articles – Adjaye, David Frank, and Helen Castle. 2003. “The Democratiser: A Conversation with David Adjaye.” Architectural Design 73 (6): 90–95. – Allison, Peter. 2002. “The Concept of Furniture: Four Projects by David Adjaye.” Architectural Design 72 (4): 46–53. – Blackler, Zoë. 2002. “Adjaye in the AJ [David Adjaye].” Architects’ Journal 216 (4): 18–19. – Blum, Andrew. 2008. “Letter from New Orleans: Saint Brad.” Metropolis 27 (8): 94–104]. – Campkin, Ben. 2007. “Ornament from Grime: David Adjaye’s Dirty House, the Architectural ‘Aesthetic of Recycling’ and the Gritty Brits.” Journal of Architecture 12 (4): 367–92. – Fairs, Marcus. 2014. “David Adjaye Discusses the Opportunities for Architects in Africa.” Dezeen Magazine. September 29. http://www.dezeen.com/2014/09/29/david-adjaye-book-of-interviews/. – Hamilton, Dell M. 2013. “Precise Medicine: Reflections on Architecture with David Adjaye.” Transition 110 (1): 30–53. – Iovine, Julie V. 2002. “A Beacon on a Path to Fame.” The New York Times, December 26, sec. Dining & Wine. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/26/dining/a-beacon-on-a-path-to-fame.html. – Koenig, Alix Brownem Photographs By Nikolas. 2006. “Double Vision.” The New York Times, September 3, sec. Magazine. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/03/magazine/03style.html. – Make It Right Organization. 2014. “Architects.” Make It Right: In Depth. June 27. http:// makeitright.org/what-we-know/library/article/architects/. – Ouroussoff, Nicolai. 2007. “Pursuing Public Space in a Time of Private Interest.” The New York Times, July 31, sec. Arts / Art & Design. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/31/arts/design/31adja.html.

Bibliography

– Russell, James S. 2002. “David Adjaye’s Designs Serve as Brides Between Art and Architecture.” Architectural Record 190 (12): 126–[129]. – Shaw, William. 2006. “Man With a Plan.” The New York Times, April 2, sec. Style / T: Style Magazine. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/style/tmagazine/t_d_p140_143_well_adjaye_.html. – Suqi, Rima. 2014. “Mirror, Mirror | David Adjaye.” June 12. http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes. com/2012/06/12/mirror-mirror-david-adjaye/. – Thomas, Laura. 2014. “David Adjaye’s African Architecture Inspiration.” BBC News Entertainment Arts - Dream Builders. August 8. http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-28692859. – Tomkins, Calvin. 2013. “A Sense of Place.” The New Yorker. September 16. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/09/23/a-sense-of-place. – Welton, J. Michael. 2014. “Chairs and Tables from David Adjaye | Architects and Artisans.” Architects + Artisans. May 5. http://architectsandartisans.com/index.php/2014/05/david-adjayesnew-line-of-furnishings/