ARCHITECTURE: DAVID ADJAYE IN HARLEM

Harlem Bespoke:  We get a lot of comments on social media when posting about the Sugar Hill Children's Museum at 155th Street since the dark stacked cubes with diminutive windows are a striking image against the classic architecture of the neighborhood.  Who was selected to design the development which is actually mostly affordable housing on the top level? Some might be surprised that the answer is Ghanaian-British Architect David Adjaye who is notably famous in the states for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History which has received tremendous approval by the public.  

Looking at the firm's instagram account, it appears that Adjaye draws inspiration from early African architecture which often are almost windowless and are somewhat monolithic in form.  Luckily the planned new design for the Studio Museum on 125th Street keeps the geometry that the architect is known for but adds an abundance of windows.  We love the source inspiration which was one of the first forms of passive housing since the emphasis on having hardly any windows kept the heat out and the interiors cool but for modern updates, having a lot of light really is important for most nowadays.

HarlemBespoke.com 2021