Renowned British-Ghanaian architect David Adjaye announced on July 4 that he would step down from a number of projects, the New York Times reports. The news came in the immediate wake of allegations, first reported in the FinancialTimes that same day, that he sexually assaulted or harassed three of his employees. The women, who have not been named, “accused him and his company of different forms of exploitation – from alleged sexual assault and sexual harassment on his part to a toxic work culture – which does not have not been controlled for years”, according to the FT. The publication called Adjaye’s accusers “black women in their 40s at the time the alleged abuse occurred, . . . single mothers, well-connected professionally and from influential families. All three would have known Adjaye before working for him, and would have shared friends and acquaintances with him.
In a statement, Adjaye strongly rejected “any allegations of sexual misconduct, abuse or foul play”, saying “the allegations are untrue, distressing to me and my family and go against everything I defend”. Instead, he maintained that he “formed relationships that, while entirely consensual, blurred the lines between my professional life and my personal life.” Adjaye admitted he was “ashamed” and “deeply sorry.” To restore trust and accountability, I will immediately seek professional help to learn from these mistakes to ensure they never happen again.
Shortly after the allegations became public, Adjaye stepped down from his role as architectural adviser to Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, and suspended work on the British Holocaust Memorial, which he had been responsible for creating. In a statement, he said he would give up all ceremonial roles and guardianships so the allegations don’t “become a distraction.” The Multnomah County Library in Gresham, Oregon, announced it had severed ties with Adjaye, whom it had previously introduced as one of the architects of the future structure.
Adjaye founded Adjaye Associates in 2000. Notable projects by the architectural firm include the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC; Ruby City, a new art center in San Antonio, Texas; the mixed-use development of Sugar Hill, in Harlem, New York; and the Ethelbert Cooper Gallery of African and African American Art at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center. Current projects include the Studio Museum in Harlem and the National Cathedral of Ghana in Accra. Adjaye was knighted in 2017. In 2020 he won the prestigious Isamu Noguchi Prize and became the first black architect to win the Royal Institute of British Architects Gold Medal in the prize’s 173-year history.
