Categories: News

Iconic Architect David Adjaye Shortlisted for Latvian Museum, Obama Library

Storied Ghanaian architect David Adjaye (pictured) was recently announced as a finalist in designing the Latvian Art Museum, a few months after also being shortlisted for U.S. President Barack Obama‘s presidential library in Chicago.

Skolkovo Moscow School

Forty-nine-year-old Adjaye, born in Tanzania, is responsible for the designs behind Kampala, Uganda’s office park, which is the largest in Africa; residential houses “Elektra” and “Dirty” in London, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo, the Skolkovo Moscow School of Management, and the Roksanda Ilincic in London.

Adjaye is currently working on the Hackney Regeneration Project in London and the MEMO Project in Portland, U.K.

Roksanda Ilincic. Photographer Credit : Ed Reeve

Dirty House

The Sclera

With his designs, Adjaye says he looks to “engage communities” as well as challenge himself to create “new typologies.”

His dazzling work has made him a finalist for designing a new building for the Latvian Museum’s Riga center.

Other finalists for the project include Lahdelma and Mahlamaki, Curuso St. John Architects, Henning Larsen Architects, Neutelings Riedijk Architects, Sauerbruch Hutton, and wHY.

Of its new project, Latvian Museum Chair Romans Surnacovs said, “This new museum is a major initiative for Latvia and will showcase the country’s culture and artistic flair.”

Last August, a call for “architectural design services” was announced for the Obama Presidential Center that will include the Obama Foundation‘s headquarters, a library for the President’s archives, a museum for his legacy, healthful food choices for visitors, labs for innovators to share their work, and training.

On picking an architect, Obama Foundation Chairman Martin Nesbitt said, “We’re thrilled that the process of selecting an architectural firm for the Obama Presidential Center is underway.

“This process is the next step toward the creation of the Obama Presidential Center, which will serve as a forum to inspire and empower people to take action on the big challenges of our time.”

By December, it was announced that Adjaye, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, John Ronan Architects, SHoP Architects, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Snohetta, and Tod William Billie Tsien have been shortlisted.

Both projects should announce their winning architects shortly.

Good luck, Adjaye!

Abena Agyeman-Fisher

Abena Agyeman-Fisher is the Editor-in-Chief of Face2Face Africa. Most recently, she worked for Interactive One as the Senior Editor of NewsOne, she worked for AOL as the News Programming Manager of Black Voices, which later became HuffPo Black Voices, and for the New York Times Company as an Associate Health Editor. Abena, a Spelman College graduate, has been published in Al Jazeera, the Daily Beast, New Jersey’s The Star-Ledger, the Grio, BlackVoices, West Orange Patch, About.com, the Source, Vibe, Vibe Vixen, Jane, and Upscale Magazines. She has interviewed top celebrities, icons, and politicians, such as First Lady Michelle Obama, Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett, Civil Rights activist and diplomat Andrew Young, comedian Bill Cosby, Grammy Award-winning singer Jill Scott, actress and singer Queen Latifah, Olympic Gold winner Cullen Jones, international supermodel Alek Wek, and five-division world champion boxer Floyd Mayweather. Most recently, she served as the First Lady’s press reporter during President Barack Obama’s U.S.-Africa Summit, Young African Leaders Institute event, and the 2013 presidential trip to Senegal, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Tanzania. Abena is also a 2015 International Women's Media Foundation Africa Great Lakes Fellow, where she reported on women candidates and Chinese sweatshops in Tanzania for CNN and Refinery29.