Ghanaian British architect David Adjaye knighted

The queen of England has awarded world-renowned Ghanaian British architect, David Adjaye, a knighthood for his service to architecture across the world.

Sir David Adjaye received his award from Prince William, Duke of Cambridge at an official Investiture ceremony held at Buckingham Palace on Friday.

Adjaye who was born in Tanzania to a Ghanaian diplomat father was recently named among the 100 most influential personalities in the world by the Times Magazine.

He graduated from the Royal College of Art and has notable works including the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. 

The knighthood followed two previous royal awards received by Sir David – the 2016 Queen’s Birthday Honours in October 2016 and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2007.

Sir David said: “I am deeply honoured and delighted to have received a knighthood for my contribution to architecture, and absolutely thrilled to be recognised for a role that I consider a pleasure to be able to undertake. I would like to thank Her Majesty the Queen for this incredible privilege, which I see as a celebration of the potential architecture has to effect positive social change”.

The knighthood crowns a memorable 12 months for the architect, who celebrated his 50th birthday in September 2016 and at the same time completed the largest project in his career to date – the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History & Culture on Washington DC’s National Mall. He was named one of 2017’s most influential people by TIME magazine and became a new Royal Academician by the Royal Academy of Arts.

The past year has also seen Sir David’s firm Adjaye Associates win a host of industry awards and high profile commissions. Most recently, the practice was shortlisted to design the UK’s National Holocaust Memorial and revealed plans for One Berkeley, a mixed-use scheme situated on London’s iconic Piccadilly.

David Adjaye joins only a handful of architects to have been knighted – among them Norman Foster (1990), Richard Rogers (1991), Michael Hopkins (1995), Nicholas Grimshaw (2002), Peter Cook (2007) and David Chipperfield (2010).