Of the many aspiring architects that are part of the renaissance of a new young British Architecture, one name has in recent years begun to appear ever more frequently - David Adjaye.

His name has made the crossover to mainstream media and begun to symbolise a new breed of architect, one whom is at the forefront of young British architecture. He is very much a star in the ascendant and at 38, has already become an architect of international renown despite his youth.

Having set up his own practice in 1994 it was not long before he developed a strong reputation for quality modern design, with an architecture that is easily read and therefore accepted by the general populace and not lost in an egotistical intellectual vagueness. In the 12 years of his practice, his oeuvre has built up from small-scale private commissions (private houses, cafes, bars) on to a wide range of high-profile public buildings, which include libraries, art galleries and theatres. His current project list continues to include his iconic individual residences but now also has an impressive array of all manner of civic and cultural buildings across the globe, a portfolio of work that no doubt is looked on with envy by not only his contemporaries but also the established names, both at home and abroad.

Adjaye’s designs are often radical yet in a manner that allows his buildings to sit well in historical contexts, with designs that provide a new generation of building that is a world away from the pastiche and shallow commercialism that sadly blights much of today’s ‘standard’ architecture.

Adjaye has a uniquely intuitive design approach that allows him to root a building not only to its immediate context but also to imbibe a cultural and historical link that manages to anchor his work to local communities in a familiar and un-patronising manner. A strong sense of materials, texture and light and their interplay, absolutely critical to successful architecture, are all components present in his work.

As an architect he has many artist friends, one of the most prominent of which is Chris Ofili, for whom he designed the artist’s studio (also in the east end of London) and who has collaborated with Adjaye on a number of projects. Much of Adjaye’s work has an artistic flair which is not only due to these close links with the art community but also no doubt from his having studied a fine arts foundation course prior to studying architecture.

Despite his rapidly increasing fame and international stature, Adjaye is rooted in the east end of London and several of his seminal early works (Elektra House, Ofili’s studio) and of late the Whitechapel Idea Store, not to mention his own office, Adjaye Associates, are to be found in the area. As such, the opening of a new two month exhibition (his first major show in the UK) at the Whitechapel Gallery is an absolute must-see.

Key building by David Adjaye:
Idea Store, Whitechapel, east London

New Buildings by Adjaye/Associates:
Timber-frame prefabricated house, de Beauvoir Town, Hackney, east London
2007

Rivington Place, Rivington Street, east London - 2007

Manchester gallery project, northern England - 2007-
David Adjaye with Maurice Shapero + Stephenson Bell
£55m: Apartments, gallery, retail, market, bus station

Stephen Lawrence Centre, Deptford, southeast London - 2007

Bernie Grant Centre, Tottenham, east London - 2007

inVIA - Institute of International Visual Arts, London - 2007

Museum of Contemporary Arts, Denver, USA - 2007

Buildings by Adjaye/Associates (alphabetical):
Dirty House, Shoreditch, east London, UK - 2001-02

Elektra House, Whitechapel, east London, UK - 1998-2000

Idea Store, Chrisp Street, Poplar, east London, UK - 2001-04

Idea Store Whitechapel, Whitechapel, east London, UK - 2001-05

Nobel Peace Center - Exhibition Centre, Oslo, Norway - 2002-05

T-B A21 Olafur Eliasson Pavilion - Art Installation, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy - 2005

Adjaye/Associates - Stirling Prize nominated 2006 for Idea Store
Client: London Borough of Tower Hamlets

David Adjaye reformed his studio in 2000 as Adjaye/Associates

David Adjaye - Teaching Positions:
Architectural Association, London : unit tutor

Previously:
Royal College of Art, London : lecturer

David Adjaye - Awards:
RIBA First Prize Bronze Medal : 1993