This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Top 10 1 “D 76


Grand Designs


President Obama’s favourite architect, David Adjaye, is the first creative to be No1 on the Powerlist. Selina Julien meets him


on’t just build – change the world. Use architecture to make the world better for you and the people you love.” Tis is the advice world-renowned architect David Adjaye OBE has


for the next generation and is one of the reasons this passionate individual has become the first creative professional to be No1 on the Powerlist in its six-year history. David’s sensibility and vision is what sets him apart in his


industry. His mission is making a difference through design and it’s a mission the 46-year-old doesn’t take lightly. “Te motivation for my work is social issues and trying to make architecture work with that. As I matured as an architect it’s become the important driver.” Sitting in his design studio in London’s Marylebone,


surrounded by miniature models of his designs, David is by all accounts an unassuming, humble individual. His incredible designs teamed with his unwavering passion have earned him fans from President Barack Obama to Brad Pitt, but creating life-changing designs is what excites David the most and his diverse client base reflects this. “Tey range from Silicon Valley billionaires, to celebrities to public authorities. Te main bulk of our work is public buildings and commercial work when it supports change.” It’s no wonder then that President Obama introduced him to


David and Samantha Cameron as his favourite architect. Visibly embarrassed by having the most powerful man in the world as his biggest fan, discreet David says: “Michelle and Barack have been incredibly kind to me. I think David Cameron was quite shocked that I was British actually.” Another high-profile American who’s also a fan is Brad Pitt who


requested David’s services to design a prototype for flood-resistant houses in New Orleans for his Make it Right Foundation. “Brad told me he really loved my work and I was happy to work with him. I recently went to New Orleans to see my houses being built and met a few of the families and it was wonderful. I donated my fee back to the foundation as I’d rather the money went back into the project.” Winning the commission of a lifetime to design Te National


Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, is testament to David’s incredible global reputation. “Once


POWERLIST 2013 | WWW.POWERFUL-MEDIA.COM


every hundred years you get a great project like this, so for me the great honour is having to deliver this project, right next to the White House. I’m a young British boy doing this half a billion pound project and all these Americans are asking how I did it.” It is no mean feat, for David and his team competed against 75


international firms before the final six were given a sum of money and asked to develop a strategy. “We had to present to the most illustrious board, including Oprah Winfrey and Colin Powell. I was shaking like I’d just walked in to the epicentre of the universe and I had to remember my lines for the presentation, are you kidding me? But we won unanimously. It was extraordinary. I’d just completed the Moscow School of Management, which is the biggest project I’ve ever done but this is even more amazing!” It’s beyond his wildest dreams, and David – who was born in


Tanzania, but is of Ghanaian descent – has come a long way from the confused teenager who was relentlessly pursuing a career in science to compete with his elder sibling. “My brother is one of the foremost genetic scientists in the world. He was the model and I was determined to beat him, I was obsessed with science, but not brilliant at it.” Te light bulb moment didn’t strike until a couple of years later


when his art teacher, Mr Jenkins, encouraged him to seriously think about pursuing a career in a creative industry. Te son of a diplomat, David spent his formative years in Ghana, Egypt, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia on foreign postings before his family settled in the UK when he was 14. “It was typical for immigrant families to be lawyers, doctors and diplomats, but there were never any creative people,” adds David. Aſter earning a first-class honours degree at South Bank


University within a record 12 months he went on to receive his MA in Architecture from the Royal College of Arts. Te same year he was awarded the RIBA First Prize Bronze Medal – the highest degree in the land. He launched Adjaye Associates in 2000, an experience he


describes as terrifying and super exciting. “As a young black male there were no black patrons in my industry. Even though it’s predominately a white male profession there are some great guys in it, like Richard Rogers, who was incredibly kind to me. I was confident in what I did, but I didn’t know whether the world understood what I did.”


Top 10


Pic: John Ferguson


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120