Form, Heft, Material

David Adjaye is the subject of a major survey exhibition at Haus der Kunst in Munich, that explores the multifaceted approach of this inspiring architect.

David Adjaye Sugar Hill Harlem (detail), New York, 2014. Photo: Adjaye Associates

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The exhibition at Haus der Kunst in Munich comes at a significant moment in David Adjaye’s career – his Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), a historically important and iconic building, will be inaugurated in 2016 and is already gaining broad recognition.

The establishment of the NMAAHC is the culmination of a decades-long struggle to recognise the importance of the black community in the social fabric of American life. The site is located on the corner between the National Mall and the Ellipse, the landscaped space in front of the White House, and it overlooks the Washington Monument. The crown-like form of the corona ascends in three stages and refers to a sculpture by the early-twentiethcentury Yoruba sculptor Olowe of Ise. Significant political and financial resources have laid the foundations for this longawaited symbol for the African American contribution to the nation’s history and identity.

**Top**: David Adjaye Sugar Hill Harlem (detail), New York, 2014. Photo: Adjaye Associates. **Above**: "David Adjaye: Form, Heft, Material". Installation view, Haus der Kunst, 2015. Photo: Wilfried Petzi

The exhibition explores the multifaceted approach of this inspiring architect. An engaging exhibition design with installations that visitors can physically explore, as well as drawings, models, sketches, films, and large-scale fragments of projects, emphasizes the striking materiality and formal qualities
of Adjaye’s work and illustrates how he develops a project through concept to realization. For his projects, Adjaye has continued to look to art for inspiration, making buildings that insist on being accommodated as objects that share the space with those who inhabit them.

“Form, Heft, Material” presents more than 45 projects, both completed and ongoing, since Adjaye Associates was founded (in 2000). The presentation is divided into six sections: inspirational drawings and materials; small-scale monuments like the accessible pavilion “Horizon”, the monoforms and furniture; the section Living Spaces, including the Elektra House and Dirty House, Seven and Silverlight; Democracy of Knowledge presenting public buildings (Idea Store, Stephen Lawrence Centre, Cape Coast Slavery Museum); urban buildings with socio-political functions, including the Moscow School of Management, Sugar Hill (apartments for socially vulnerable tenants); urban studies and masterplanning; and a section presenting Adjaye research on African metropolitain architecture. A new documentary film by Oliver Hardt, David Adjaye – Collaborations, has its premiere at Haus der Kunst as part of the exhibition, too.

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"David Adjaye: Form, Heft, Material". Installation view, Haus der Kunst, 2015. Photo: Wilfried Petzi

"David Adjaye: Form, Heft, Material". Installation view, Haus der Kunst, 2015. Photo: Wilfried Petzi

"David Adjaye: Form, Heft, Material". Installation view, Haus der Kunst, 2015. Photo: Wilfried Petzi

"David Adjaye: Form, Heft, Material". Installation view, Haus der Kunst, 2015. Photo: Wilfried Petzi

until May 31, 2015
David Adjaye
Form, Heft, Material
curated by Okwui Enwezor and Zoë Ryan
organized by Haus der Kunst and The Art Institute of Chicago
Supported by Ford Foundation; Tony & Elham Salame, Aishti Foundation; Michael Hue-Williams, Albion Barn; East Deck; Design Indaba; Amalia Dayan and Adam Lindemann; Gaby and Wilhelm Schurmann; Jurg Zumtobel, Zumtobel
Cultural partner M94.5
Haus der Kunst
Prinzregentenstraße 1, 80538 München

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Form, Heft, Material

David Adjaye is the subject of a major survey exhibition at Haus der Kunst in Munich, that explores the multifaceted approach of this inspiring architect.

Seamless design, ECLISSE steps outdoors

How many forms can an idea take? Fantin has the answer

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