Hello and welcome to my weekly podcast on art & architecture in the news. The video can be seen in my Instagram and FB pages.
Today we talk about architecture and the winner of the prestigious annual RIBA Royal Gold Medal, the Ghanaian-British Sir David Adjave. Congratulations!
David Adjave was knighted Sir in 2017, and listed in the 100 most influential people by TIME magazine that year. His firm Adjave Architects has completed more than 70 projects worldwide, from private houses to major public buildings.
What is the award about? Why is it important?
RIBA is the Royal Institute of British Architects and the award has a long tradition that goes back to 1848! The Royal Gold Medal is awarded in recognition of a substantial contribution to international architecture and for a distinguished body of work rather than for one building. Some winners of the past include the masters of Modernism such as Frank Lloyd Wright (1941), Le Corbusier (1953), Walter Gropius (1956) and Mies van der Rohe (1959) and the star-architects of post-Modernism such as Renzo Piano (1989) and Zaha Hadid (2016), among others. It also included writers and historians of architecture, engineers and archeologists! Winning this prize is a major achievement, especially at 51 years old, considered a young age in the architectural industry!
At the core of Adjave’s vision is the experience the human body has inside the buildings, the creative and transformative relationship between the human body, society and the world. He calls this approach to design “inside-out”, where a sequence of spaces “unfold cinematically” to facilitate this relashionship.
Other key components of the architect’s vision are natural light, collaboration between art & architecture, sustainability and community engagement.
The largest project so far is the National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington DC. In offering a black African-American experience, it introduces a “different language” than traditional US museums, typically in white stone and marble. Outside, the volumes are clad in thousands of bronze coloured cast-aluminium panels, with patterns inspired by African-American craftsmanship. Inside, visitors are guided on and historical and emotional journey with vast spaces and natural light.
Another large innovative project is the Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO (2010). Moscow’s weather can be very harsh and a big and dispersed university campus can be a very disruptive and isolating experience for students. Adjave wants to “prioritise student interaction and reflection” and designed the school’s facilities as a single building, but made by different geometrical volumes.
It is located on an idyllic wooden valley like any campus in the world, but it is perceived and lived very differently. Outside, the appearance changes dramatically depending on the direction which it is seen, giving a sense of dynamism and forward-looking teaching approach. Inside, spaces are well connected giving students a sense of belonging.
In London you can see public and private projects, mainly in Shoreditch and Hackney, such as Rivington Place , Idea Store, Mole House , Sunken House, among others. Let’s go and explore!
This is Roby, from ART Tours with a Theme – ART wiT. I hope you enjoyed this podcast!
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