Architexturez. wrote:

| is there a user's manual for this
| type of thing? we see Adjaye has
| gone from 'young enthusiastic talented'
| to 'architect for/and the people' stage

 

Most of Britain’s public buildings alienate people as much as they support them, David Adjaye, one of the country’s most prominent architects has declared.

Speaking to The Observer, the Tanzanian born architect said grand and impressive features such as those on London’s City Hall threaten to isolate Britons rather than embrace them.

He claims that instead of including elements of design from peoples’ every day life, the majority of public-facing buildings are too like palaces, suggesting big is not always beautiful, rather it’s imposing.

“A building like the National Gallery, with its grand staircase and portico, is a good example,” Adjaye said.

....

According to the BBC, the Whitechapel building has more than quadrupled its number of daily visitors since 2003, in an area noted for poor literacy and sub-standard use of library facilities.1

However the architect’s big idea on public building design is not universally accepted, not least because all public buildings don’t necessarily carry out the same function.

Isabel Allen, editor of Architects Journal, said: “Government buildings like City Hall are different from libraries. The public aren’t actually supposed to be invited in.”

If Adjaye gets his way, his next public building is likely to be for a religious or inspirational setting, rather than a political one.

“As soon as you start talking about things politically, people get really worried. But if you look at most contemporary art, it makes a comment about social conditions right now. It’s about time architecture did the same thing,” he said.

In contrast, the architect admitted he was ”dying” to design a church, but added that the buildings have been complicit in institutionalising and alienating people.

Adjaye said:” The message was, ‘look and believe’. Now that message has changed, and the architecture of a modern church should reflect that.”

  • 1. “People feel comfortable in the market, and by incorporating its colours in the design for the building I’m sending out a signal that this building is for them,” Adjaye said, reflecting on his Tower Hamlets project.