david adjaye: urban africa
design museum, london
march 31st - september 5th, 2010

asmara, eritrea
photo by david adjaye

london-based architect, david adjaye's 'urban africa' is his photographic journey
through key cities in africa. the series of images are part of an ongoing project in which
adjaye is studying new patterns of urbanism, addressing our scarce knowledge of the
built environment in africa.

a continent which is often defined by its underdevelopment, poverty, war and urbanism,
adjaye has photographed the salient features of africa's suburban settlements.
he has captured the unofficial developments and townscapes which reveal the cities themselves,
examining the buildings and places which have special resonance with his preoccupations
as an architect.

cities included in the series are the capital city of rwanda, showing traces of its colonial past,
tripoli in libya, which is very much invaded by the energy of the present, the informal settlements
on the edges of new cities like abuja, nigeria and traces of the apartheid which are still inscribed
on pretoria, south africa.

this is the first occasion in which the images will be presented together, as a series of
large-scale projections, set against a backdrop of african beats which have been composed
especially for the exhibition by peter adjaye. 'urban africa' documents the nature of urban life
in the developing continent, providing a geo-cultural survey of the african city within the
global context.


cairo, egypt
photo by david adjaye


abidjan, côte d'ivoire
photo by david adjaye


gaborone, botswana
photo by david adjaye


architect david adjaye
portrait by ed reeve