Archinect - News

Assessing an unequal Accra in the wake of David Adjaye's recent controversies

2024-08-05T17:53:00-04:00

The firm’s website still tags the National Cathedral, the Du Bois Museum Complex and others as ‘current’ projects, in contrast to on-the-ground reality. In the midst of a lack of transparency, and accountability, what remains clear is the mistake we make when we expect global celebrities who have cut their teeth in the transactional corridors of the corporate world to switch to an opposite ethic in the name of local solidarity or values.

Adjaye had faced criticism from numerous political figures in Ghana over alleged favoritism and high-profile public commissions even before being swept up by the sexual misconduct allegations that shocked the architecture world last summer. Now, writer Anakwa Dwamena reports that his visions for an increasingly unequal Accra have gone largely unrealized, leaving behind 17-acre “eyesores” in place of the controversial Ghana National Cathedral project and looming threats to two important heritage sites imposed by his Marine Drive redevelopment vision — both of which have yet to be built.

Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama debuts 'Purple Hibiscus' at the Barbican, a reference to the site's material history

2024-04-12T16:33:00-04:00

The Barbican has debuted a new large-scale public art installation from Ghanaian-born artist Ibrahim Mahama.

His site-specific piece Purple Hibiscus, named in reference to the 2003 novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, is installed on the facade of the Barbican’s central Lakeside Terrace. It uses approximately 21,500 square feet of fuschia-hued cloth that contrasts dramatically with the rough concrete exterior and overcast London sky.

Installation view, 'Ibrahim Mahama: Purple Hibiscus.' Image: © Dion Barrett / Barbican Centre

Mahama created the piece in collaboration with artisans from his Red Clay Studio and Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art in the city of Tamale, Ghana. It references the site's past history as the epicenter of the "rag trade" in Central London before World War II. Together, both the piece and architecture serve as a metaphor for the "power of labor."

Installation view, 'Ibrahim Mahama: Purple Hibiscus.' Image: © Dion Barrett / Barbican Centre

The artist describes...

Details emerge regarding the Italian government denying visas for three Ghanaian curators at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale

2023-05-22T15:47:00-04:00

Controversy stirred at the Venice Architecture Biennale after Italian government officials refused visas to three key Ghanaian curators who had planned on entering the country to attend the exhibition ahead of its opening on Saturday, May 20.

On May 19, The Art Newspaper's Tom Seymour reported on the latest details on the story first mentioned by Guardian critic Oliver Wainwright via Twitter on May 10th.

Sickening to hear this from the curator of this year's Venice Biennale, Lesley Lokko – large numbers of participants from Africa have been denied visas to attend: pic.twitter.com/Pn5ASUgev9
— Olly Wainwright (@ollywainwright) May 10, 2023

The drama began after the Italian ambassador to Ghana denied entry permissions to the traveling contingent, reportedly accusing curator Lesley Lokko of trying to bring three “non-essential” workers into the EU’s Schengen economic zone.

Lokko, who is herself of Ghanaian descent, responded to decry the actions as the motivations of a right-wing caree...

David Adjaye answers critics in National Cathedral of Ghana financing dispute

2023-01-24T14:24:00-05:00

David Adjaye has issued a statement in response to the ongoing scrutiny of the design fees and commissioning of the National Cathedral of Ghana project in his home country.

Speaking to the Ghanaian outlet Joy News after the new year, the architect dismissed claims of preferential treatment and financial impropriety on the project, stating that nothing was “hidden or opaque” within the process that has become the subject of legal action taken by political opponents to President Nana Akufo-Addo.

The dispute centers on $21.37 million USD worth of fees paid to Adjaye Associates in two installments by the government that were allegedly not approved by the parliament, according to a minority politician who is campaigning for their repayment dependent on the outcome of the country’s 2024 national elections.

Previously on Archinect: Adjaye may be asked to repay National Cathedral fees as Ghanaian political campaign turns ugly

It has been established, however, that approvals did go through G...

Adjaye may be asked to repay National Cathedral fees as Ghanaian political campaign turns ugly

2022-06-24T18:55:00-04:00

A homegrown dispute in Sir David Adjaye’s native Ghana is boiling over after news that the architect could be asked to repay some $21.3 million in fees associated with the firm’s National Cathedral design, which politicians from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) party claim is part of a sole-sourced tender process that has favored the architect for a number of years.

The online news site GhanaWeb has reported several stories recently in relation to the efforts of MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a member of the NDC, who is insisting that the 10.5% design fee asked by Adjaye Associates at the project’s inception in 2018 was never formally approved by the governing body. The politician also claims the Cathedral will not be completed by its originally planned 2024 date – the same year the country is set to hold a presidential election upon which, he says, the project's status most likely relies on.

Lesley Lokko's African Futures Institute receives a $150,000 Mellon Foundation grant

2022-06-21T17:36:00-04:00

The African Futures Institute (AFI) has announced that it has received a grant totalling $150,000 from the Mellon Foundation.

As stated on the Foundation’s website, the funding will be used “to support program planning and activities for the establishment of an independent graduate school of architecture and public events platform in Accra, Ghana.”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by African Futures Institute (@african_futures_institute)

Founded and directed by Lesley Lokko, the AFI aims to create a world-class teaching and research institute, in Accra, that will merge a wide range of built environment disciplines, from architecture to urban design, all through the lens of the African continent and the Diaspora. The AFI will offer a number of Masters-level programs, along with short courses and workshops for practicing architects. AFI’s first Masters-level program will be in architectural writing and criticism and is set to begin in 2024.

Previously on A...

Adjaye Associates reveals designs for a massive new healthcare infrastructure project in Ghana

2021-08-26T14:09:00-04:00

As part of the architect’s ongoing commitment to his native country, David Adjaye has revealed designs for a massive new public infrastructure project that will provide over 100 new healthcare facilities to the people of Ghana.

Dubbed Agenda 111, the government-backed initiative will add 101 district hospitals as well as 10 new regional hospitals to the rapidly developing West African nation. The existing Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital will be provided with a much-needed restoration as well.

Courtesy Adjaye Associates

“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,” the firm said in a statement.

Courtesy Adjaye Associates

Ghana’s infrastructure has been steadily improving since the...

Sir David Adjaye receives RIBA Gold Medal at illustrious virtual event

2021-05-28T17:14:00-04:00

Earlier this week, on May 26th, celebrated Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye formally received the 2021 Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Royal Gold Medal in a virtual ceremony. Surprise luminaries from around the world, including former U.S. President Barack Obama and U2 singer Bono, participated to congratulate Adjaye on his historic accomplishment.

Calling in from Ghana, Adjaye received his award from the UK’s high commissioner to Ghana, Iain Walker, on behalf of the Queen.

Sir David Adjaye receives the RIBA 2021 Royal Gold Medal for Architecture, presented by the British High Commissioner Iain Walker. Image: RIBA/Francis Kokoroko 2021

“It’s incredibly humbling and a great honor to have my peers recognize the work I have developed with my team and its contribution to the field over the past 25 years,” Adjaye said upon hearing the news that he received the Royal Gold Medal. “Architecture, for me, has always been about the creation of beauty to edify all people...

Community-built market completed in northern Ghana by [a]FA

2020-04-21T15:24:00-04:00

The New Guabuliga Market is a recent design-build project that has been underway from [applied] Foreign Affairs ([a]FA), a transdisciplinary lab at the Institute of of Architecture of the University of Applied Arts Vienna.

Based on research done back in 2018, a team of students designed this modular market structure with the goal of attracting traders to the remote community of Guabuliga in northern Ghana to strengthen the socio-economic health of the region.

Photo by Toms Kampars.

Construction began in early 2019 and the market opened in August 2019. The design consists of a "floorscape" and "roofscape" ad utilizes an integrated water source, furniture, and a market shop for locally made products. The structure takes inspiration from the traditional grain silos of the region.

Photo by Juergen Strohmayer.

The market was built with local labor and professionals who relied on the direction and expertise of the project partners. Everyone from local masons and welders to seasoned design ...

Ghana to debut at Venice Biennale with David Adjaye-designed pavilion

2019-02-25T13:33:00-05:00

Works by artists such as John Akomfrah, El Anatsui and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye will go on show in Ghana’s first national pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale this spring (11 May-24 November). The Ghanaian pavilion, located in the Artiglierie of the historic Arsenale, will be designed by the prominent UK-Ghanaian architect David Adjaye, who is working on a number of cultural initiatives aimed at boosting the profile of the west African country.

"Titled ‘Ghana Freedom’, after the song composed by E.T. Mensah on the eve of the birth of the new nation in 1957, the pavilion curated by Nana Oforiatta Ayim examines the legacies and trajectories of that freedom by six artists, across three generations, rooted both in Ghana and its Diasporas: through archives of objects in large-scale installations by El Anatsui and Ibrahim Mahama; representation and portraiture, both in the studio work of Ghana's first known female photographer Felicia Abban and imagined by painter Lynette Yiadom-Boakye; and the relativities of loss and restitution in a 3-channel film by John Akomfrah and in a film sculpture by Selasi Awusi Sosu. The elliptically-shaped design of the pavilion by Sir David Adjaye explores the intersection of ideas linking the works." (Project description via Ghana Pavilion Venice Biennale 2019)

David Adjaye and his take on identity and narrative in architecture

2018-12-06T09:24:00-05:00

At this year's World Architecture Festival, David Adjaye spoke towards the festival's theme:identity. Recognized as a prominent force in the architecture community, Adjaye's own design style and focus has played towards architecture's social responsibility. During the 45-minute lecture in Amsterdam, Adjaye discussed his own design process explaining how a narrative can be derived from form and materials. "I'm always interested in forgotten stories - to lift something between comfortable and uncomfortable." Projects like the Smithsonian Institute National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and the National Cathedral of Ghana were brought up as examples.

However, the high point of the talk was when Adjaye provided his views regarding where the industry is headed. Commenting on how costly architecture is becoming, especially in the West, Adjyae pointed out "projects now cost billions and its kind of crazy." Although some ...

Adjaye Associates unveils design for new Ghana National Cathedral in Accra

2018-03-07T15:37:00-05:00

On the 61st anniversary of Ghana's national independence from Great Britian, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo celebrated by revealing plans for the new National Cathedral of Ghana. “The Cathedral will address the missing link in our nation’s architecture by providing a Church of national purpose" the President proudly proclaimed.

He went on to describe an inter-denominational house of worship and prayer that will "serve as the venue for formal state occasions of a religious nature, such as presidential inaugurations, state funerals and national thanksgiving services."

Courtesy of Adjaye Associates.

Designed by Sir David Adjaye, who was born in Tanzania to Ghanian parents, the national worship center will be a celebration of religion, culture, and local traditions. Situated within 14 acres of landscaped gardens near the Osu Cemetary in Accra, it will house a series of chapels, a baptistery, a 5,000-capacity auditorium, a grand central hall, a music school, a choir rehearsal and ...

These Nka Foundation-winning ideas will be built in Ghana's Abetenim Arts Village

2017-05-11T19:47:00-04:00

The Nka Foundation recently revealed the winners of the 2017 Land Art Competition for Ghana...architects, landscape architects, engineers, and students alike were invited to submit their most inventive ideas for large-scale and site-specific public art installations in rural Ghana. Entrants had to emphasize creating a unique arts village experience and how their design functions as a place.

Here's a glimpse of the prize-winning entries:

1st place: Earth Archive Project by Yusuke Suzuki and Léo Allègre of Yusuke Suzuki Design Office in Japan

2nd place: Nonnegligible Village by the Urban Active Space Research Studio at Dalian Polytechnic University in China
Team: Ruixuan Li, Jiazi Zhang, Qiuming Dong, Rui Xu, Ying Zheng, Xiaoming Wang, Ziyi Zhao, Yanying Zhao, Yuxiang Zhang, Na Li, Henan Wang, Pengzhe He

3rd place: Ashanti Domino by Sara Arfaian, Junko Yamamoto and Jenny Zhan in USA

Images courtesy of Nka Foundation Land Art Competition.

Find more of the top-winning entries on Bustler.

Win "African Modernism", a book that investigates nation building in five African countries

2016-01-06T14:16:00-05:00

Several African countries gained hard-fought independence from their colonizers during the 1950s and 1960s, and one way the countries expressed their new national identities was through architecture. The book African Modernism delves into this relationship between architecture and the complexities of nation building, particularly in Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, and Zambia.

Edited by architect Manuel Herz and published to accompany the Vitra Design Museum's "Architecture of Independence" exhibition, the hefty 640-page book features 103 buildings with brief description texts, images, site plans, floor plans, and sections, as well as significant photo contributions from Iwan Baan and Alexia Webster — who each documented the buildings in their current state. The book also features essays that focus on different aspects and topics regarding post-colonial Africa, which are illustrated with images and documents. If you're in Chicago, the Architecture of Independence exhibition wil...

Labeling the city: Ghana's initiative to name its streets

2014-02-11T15:14:00-05:00

In a city with no addresses, it’s difficult for local authorities to tax property. And without tax revenues, it’s difficult to upgrade infrastructure and services in the slums [...] To fix these problems, Ghana is on a national quest to name its city streets. [...] Giving names to streets is only a means to an end. The real problem cities are trying to solve is service delivery. When properties have actual addresses and those addresses reside in databases, all kinds of things become possible.