In May 2021, acclaimed Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye OBE was awarded the Royal Gold Medal by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). This marked the first time in the award’s nearly 200-year history that it was presented to a Black architect.
The Royal Gold Medal is considered one of architecture’s highest accolades, granted in recognition of an architect’s entire body of work and overall influence on the field. Past recipients include renowned architects like Frank Lloyd Wright, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas and others.
In a statement, Adjaye said he felt “incredibly humbled” that his peers recognized his work’s “contribution to the field over the past 25 years.” He added, “Architecture, for me, has always been about the creation of beauty to edify all peoples around the world equally.”
Praised for Striking, Socially Impactful Designs
Adjaye rose to international prominence through his unique melding of contemporary and African influences in private homes, retail spaces, product designs and major public buildings.
He is most famous for landmark structures like the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington and Ruby City contemporary art center in Texas.
RIBA’s 2021 committee highlighted Adjaye’s ability to “speak confidently across cultures” through designs that engage local contexts while retaining global resonance. They labeled him a “singular and timely talent” whose structures demonstrate architecture’s “civic potential” to foster unity.
The committee also cited Adjaye’s combination of practice and teaching architecture over 25 years as enriching his socially conscious vision to “create a better future.”
Joining Architecture’s Top Honorees
By receiving the Royal Gold Medal, Sir David Adjaye took his place alongside previous trailblazing laureates like Zaha Hadid, the first woman recipient in 2016.
RIBA President Alan Jones called Adjaye “a remarkable leader” whose varied projects balance “contrasting themes” in coherent, compelling fashions. He said Adjaye’s work is both “local and specific and at the same time global and inclusive.”
As the first Black Royal Gold Medalist, Adjaye’s award comes during increased efforts around diversity in the architectural profession. It symbolizes his towering status as an architect whose structures promote pluralism and community.
