Archinect - News

David Adjaye appointed to Britain's esteemed Order of Merit

2022-11-15T11:12:00-05:00

Sir David Adjaye has achieved yet another accolade after being named as one of the six new Order of Merit appointments announced this weekend and selected by Queen Elizabeth II shortly before her death in September at the age of 96.

Adjaye is now also one of five architects on the list, joining Basil Spence, Norman Foster, Giles Gilbert Scott, and Edwin Lutyens. The Order was created during the reign of King Edward VI and is meant to "honor 'exceptional distinction' in areas such as science, medicine, culture and the arts in the UK and Commonwealth realms," according to the BBC.

Previously on Archinect: Sir David Adjaye receives RIBA Gold Medal at illustrious virtual event

Adjaye’s presence in the now-201-member roster helps to diversify the institution that, even with the new appointees, only includes five women and a few people of color. He was joined by news presenter Floella Benjamin, biologists Paul Nurse and Venki Ramakrishnan, Nurse Elizabeth Anionwu, and Canadian historian Ma...

Architectural historian to manage Queen of England's vast art collection

2017-12-22T13:56:00-05:00

The Queen has appointed Tim Knox, 55, the director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, to be the new director of the Royal Collection Trust. He has been the museum’s director since 2013 and is an architectural historian and country house curator. [...] His early career was spent at the Royal Institution of British Architects. He then served as the head curator of the National Trust (2002-05), from which he went on to be the director of the Sir John Soane’s Museum (2005-13).

"The Royal Collection is one of the world’s greatest, comprising more than a million objects from all aspects of fine and decorative art," The Art Newspaper writes. "It is not the personal property of The Queen, but is held in trust by Her Majesty for her successors and the nation."

David Adjaye knighted by the Queen in annual New Year Honours

2017-01-02T13:01:00-05:00

Every New Year’s Day since at least 1890, the Queen of England has named new members of the orders of chivalry, a.k.a. knighthood. This year, David Adjaye joins the select rank of architects who have been honored with a title. Back in 2007, Adjaye—or Sir Adjaye, now—was named an Office of the order of the British Empire. This year, he will receive the Knights Bachelor award.

"I see this not as a personal celebration, but as a celebration of the vast potential – and responsibility – for architecture to effect positive social change, that we as architects have to bring something positive to the world," Adjaye said in a statement released by his firm, Adjaye Associates. "I am proud to continue to work in service of this mission as a global cultural ambassador for the UK."

2016 was a big year for Adjaye. His National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall was widely-praised. He was announced as the designer for the San Francisco Shipyard redevelopment. In Sept...

Searching for Queen Elizabeth's architectural legacy

2015-09-25T03:53:00-04:00

Elizabeth II is the first major British monarch who will not have an architectural style named after her [...] The present Elizabethan era includes as many as a dozen architectural highlights and at least two broad architectural styles. “I cannot imagine a term or an argument that would tie all of this together,” says Stanford Anderson, a professor emeritus of history and architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “'New Elizabethan architecture’ just ducks the question.”