Urban Africa

One of the leading architects of his generation David Adjaye has stepped out of his regular line of work to photograph and document key cities in Africa as part of an ongoing research project to study new patterns of urbanism.

This exhibition is a personal quest through the eyes of an architect to redress the scant knowledge of the built environment of this expansive continent.

Adjaye has photographed the salient features of African cities and, whenever possible, suburban and unofficial developments.

His photographs do not attempt to provide an exhaustive record of each place, but instead, they examine the buildings and places which have a special resonance with his preoccupations as an architect.

The images therefore have a double significance, they speak about the cities themselves and, at the same time, they touch on themes that Adjaye is developing in his architecture.

Presented at the Design Museum as a series of vivid large-scale projections, these images will flood the gallery with a rich diversity of architecture, culture and urban landscape.

Born in Dar-Es-Salam, Tanzania, David Adjaye moved to London in 1979 where his still lives and works.

With a rich body of built work he has recently won the prestigious commission to design the new National Museum of African History and Culture in Washington.