David Adjaye, Innovation and Social Responsibility in Architecture

The Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture, opening in 2016, will likely be the last museum built on the National Mall. Its designer, award-winning architect David Adjaye, discusses this project and innovation in architecture.

On his Smithsonian design: “The most primal thing we know about architecture, which is silhouette, can immediately evoke the reading of a narrative. This museum’s silhouette became about referencing something that existed in the DNA of the ancestors of African Americans.”

On his inspiration as an architect: “As an architect, I’m very interested in the condition of people and places and how we make buildings to support public and private life…to make people feel better about the world they live in and to uplift people to be inspired to change the world.”