1. 27elevate |
D
avid Adjaye is on
fire. The acclaimed
London-based
architect whose
personal mantra
is as simple as it is beautiful—
“I am ultimately interested in
happiness”—is riding a wave.
A good one.
The master behind such
diverse structures as The
National Museum of African-
American History and Culture
in Washington, DC and the
MEMO (Mass Extinction
Monitoring Observatory)
Project—which resembles a
Scottish castle turned chic
nuclear reactor—on the Isle of
Portland in Great Britain, was,
I believe, a curious choice for
luxury fashion brand Proenza
Schouler, which commissioned
Adjaye to design several of
their retail stores in locales
including Singapore, Seoul and
New York City.
What got my attention were
the architectural choices he
made for the high-wattage
fashion and accessories
company founded by (equally
hot) sartorial duo Jack
McCullough and Lazaro
Hernandez. Adjaye nailed it.
The results of their high-profile
collaboration perfectly unite
form and function in every
square inch of the various
retail spaces; the Proenza
Schouler outposts are striking,
modern, memorable and—wait
for it—stylish. That’s what I
call a happy marriage.
What David Adjaye has
managed to pull off for
Proenza Schouler—creating
a pitch-perfect environment
that’s at once unforgettable
and invisible, dramatic but
familiar—isn’t easy to do:
That’s real talent.
Is it any wonder then that
David Adjaye was recently
tapped for Harvard University’s
W.E.B. Du Bois medal, the
university’s highest honor
in the field of African and
African American Studies?
Fellow recipients included
US Congressman John L.
Lewis, Maya Angelou, Harry
Belafonte, 12 Years a Slave
filmmaker Steve McQueen
and Oprah Winfrey — In
that company, how could he
not be happy?
THIS
MAN
IS ON
FIREHot archiectect
David Adjaye
is killing it at
Proenza Schouler
retail stores across
the globe.
BY MARCO MEDRANO
KING DAVID Proenza Schouler’s
signature triangular cutouts appear
in blackened steel screens at
the Adjaye-designed stores in
New York City’s SoHo (top) and
on Madison Avenue (bottom).
EDREEVE(adjaye);DEANKAUFMAN