asmara, eritrea photo by david adjaye

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

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.

david adjaye: urban africa cairo, egypt photo by david adjaye

david adjaye: urban africa abidjan, côte d’ivoire photo by david adjaye

david adjaye: urban africa gaborone, botswana photo by david adjaye

david adjaye: urban africa architect david adjaye portrait by ed reeve