Haus der Kunst presents the exhibition Form, Heft, Material about the work of architect David Adjaye (b. 1966). The survey exhibition, the most extensive of Adjaye’s career, examines more than 30 projects through drawings, models, installations and material fragments.

His heterogeneous work comprises approximately 50 built projects – from luxury shops and museums to libraries and social housing. Adjayes most recent commissions include the design of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., as well as the National Museum of Slavery and Freedom in Cape Coast, Ghana. The buildings of the Ghanaian-British architect are often developed in collaboration with artist friends, including the homes he designed for Chris Ofili, Sue Webster and Tim Noble, and Lorna Simpson and James Casebere.

Adjaye’s private structures play with the contrast between hermetically sealed fronts and unexpectedly generous openings in the back, thereby accommodating the owners’ need for a private retreat. In contrast, as open and permeable structures, his public buildings are socially effective architecture. Unlike structures of pure functionalism and iconic monumentality, they approach their users rather than patronizing them. Adjaye often uses materials that change color through their exposure to light, take on different textures due to varying weather conditions or provoke viewers to touch them because of their distinctive tactile qualities. They thereby also engage sensually in a dialogue with their audience.

Lectures and Seminars

Thursday, 05.03, 7 pm
“Role Models: Approximations to David Adjaye”
Lecture by Nikolaus Hirsch, Respondent: Okwui Enwezor

Friday, 06.03, 10 am – 2 pm
“Bau-Kunst”
Half-day seminar held by Nikolaus Hirsch

Thursday, 09.04, 7 pm
“Form, Heft, Material — Works 2000-2014”
Lecture by David Adjaye

Friday, 10.04, 10 am – 2 pm
Half-day seminar held by David Adjaye and Okwui Enwezor

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