Adjaye Associates’ involvement with Vermont’s Shelburne Museum has ended as the institution is now looking to distance itself from the firm two months after its embattled founder was announced to lead the design of an important $12.6 million extension project in May.
The move comes amidst a torrent of project cancellations, voluntary withdrawals, and other relinquishing measures that followed accusations of abuse and misconduct on the part of David Adjaye, in addition to further details of a “toxic work environment” at his firm.
“The recent allegations of sexual misconduct leveled against David Adjaye, and his admission of inappropriate behavior, are incompatible with our mission and values, which left the museum with no alternative but to immediately sever ties with the architect and his firm,” the museum’s CEO Thomas Denenberg said in a statement to the media. “We remain committed to moving forward with the project and the many other partners and collaborators who have been involved since its conceptualization.”
The firm had been commissioned to design space for the museum’s new Perry Center for Native American Art under a brief that called for a “sustainable building with [an] integrated landscape created in collaboration with Indigenous voices whose cultures and people are represented in the works to be stewarded in the space.”
The UAE’s planned African Institute in Sharjah project has also cut ties with the firm in the past week, joining with the UK Holocaust Memorial, Studio Museum in Harlem, Princeton Art Museum (the latter two being nearly completed), and others to take actions in light of the reports.
Adjaye has yet to make an updated public statement on the matter beyond his initial responses to the Financial Times describing an apparent willingness of “immediately seeking professional help” in order to ensure any inappropriate interactions, which he defended as "consensual", do not occur in the future.
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