Sir David Adjaye: National Cathedral architect behind designs for Agenda 111

• Firm of celebrated architect David Adjaye is in charge of designs for government’s Agenda 111 project

• Adjaye came to national limelight after he designed the National Cathedral

• His designs of iconic buildings are dotted across the world

Adjaye Associates, a firm belonging to Sir David Adjaye, the renowned Ghanaian architect, is responsible for the architectural designs for government’s massive health sector infrastructure project known as Agenda 111.

Drawings of the different district, regional and psychiatric hospitals under the drive were shared earlier this week by World Architecture portal which stated that Adjaye Associates were the lead firm relative to architectural works.

The portal further revealed that Adjaye Associates were commissioned by the Hospital Infrastructure Group (HIG) on behalf of the Ghana of Government and that they will be responsible for the design of the district hospitals.

“Guided by the ambition to define a next-generation hospital experience, the design concept merges 21st century technology with a contextual and holistic approach crucial to the delivery of state-of-the art healthcare,” the portal wrote.

“By approaching the hospital as more than just a place for the provision of medical services, the design scheme aims to unlock the potential of this ambitious initiative by repositioning the hospital as a piece of community infrastructure that embodies sustainability, efficiency, and generously provides green spaces to facilitate wellness and healing,” Sir David Adjaye is quoted to have said.

The architects will work with Accra-based architecture practice Sutherland & Sutherland Architects on the project, with the latter taking responsibility as design coordinator. Brix Landscaping will be responsible for the integrated and elaborate landscape design of the project.

The National Cathedral and other recent UK royal award

Sir Adjaye attracted the national limelight when it was revealed that he was behind the design for Ghana’s National Cathedral project located in the Greater Accra Region.

Earlier this year, has received the 2021 Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects in the UK. The award is one of the highest in the field. It was the first time in the award’s 172-year history that it has been presented to a black architect.

The judges praised Adjaye as “a singular and timely talent and a strong reminder of the insightful and integrative role of the architect.”

In September 2020, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) had announced that Sir David Adjaye would be the next recipient of the 2021 Royal Gold Medal, the UK’s highest honour for architecture.

The Royal Gold Medal is approved personally by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the reigning monarch of the UK, and is given to a person or group of people who have had a significant influence “either directly or indirectly on the advancement of architecture”.

Sir David Adjaye has achieved international attention for an exceptional body of work over 25 years. Drawing on his cited influences including “contemporary art, music and science to African art forms and the civic life of cities”, his completed projects range from private houses, exhibitions and furniture design, through to major cultural buildings and city master plans.

Sir David Adjaye was knighted in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to architecture, following an OBE in 2007.

Some famous Adjaye designs

Adjaye Associates is well-known for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC (2016), where they were lead designers of the Freelon Adjaye/Bond SmithGroup.

Other completed projects include Ruby City, an art centre in San Antonio, Texas (2019); the Alara Concept Store in Lagos (2016); the Sugar Hill Mixed-Use Development (housing, museum, community facilities and offices) in Harlem, New York (2015); the Aïshti Foundation, a mixed-use retail and arts centre in Beirut, Lebanon (2015); two neighbourhood libraries in Washington, DC (both 2012).

Tthe Moscow School of Management Skolkovo in Russia (2010); the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, Colorado (2007); the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo, Norway (2005); Rivington Place arts centre in Hackney, London (2007); and the Idea Stores – two community libraries in London (2004, 2005).

Current projects include a new home for The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, in collaboration with Cooper Robertson; 130 William, a high-rise residential tower in New York’s financial district; the International Finance Corporation (IFC) building in Dakar, Senegal.

The Princeton University Art Museum in Princeton, New Jersey, in collaboration with Cooper Robertson; the George Street Sydney Plaza in Sydney, Australia; The Abrahamic Family House, an interfaith complex in Abu Dhabi, UAE; Winter Park Library and Events Centre in Winter Park, Florida.

The UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre, London, is also led by Adjaye Associates, with Ron Arad Architects as Memorial Architect, and Gustafson Porter + Bowman as Landscape Architect; the Royal Benin Museum in Benin City, Nigeria; and the Thabo Mbeki Presidential Library in Johannesburg, South Africa; and the National Cathedral of Ghana in Accra.