British-Ghanaian architect David Adjaye has stepped away from a number of roles, including being a design advocate for the mayor of London, after three women accused him of sexual assault and harassment.
After news of the accusations broke earlier this week, Adjaye, who heads up architecture studio Adjaye Associates, stepped down from his role as design advocate for the mayor of London.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London told Dezeen: “Sir David Adjaye has relinquished his role as design solicitor.”
Adjaye was among the 50 experts, who also included architects Farshid Moussavi and David Chipperfield, appointed by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan in 2022 “To shape a better city.”
Adjaye is just steps away from the work of the Institute for the African Future
The architect has also moved away from his official association with the African Future Institutean independent graduate school of architecture and platform for public events founded by architect Leslie Loko.
“I have known David Adjaye for the past twenty-five years and admired from the sidelines his professional output and unwavering commitment to putting African architecture and architects at the forefront of the global industry,” Loko told Dezeen.
She added, “Although we work in different fields, his support for the Institute for the African Future, which I founded in 2021, has been unwavering.”
“I am very grateful for the encouragement he has given the AFI since its inception. He was one of the first to step up and believe in it. It is with regret that I received his letter stating the need to depart from his official plan of cooperation with the AFI until the issues he is currently dealing with are resolved.”
The architect’s work on a building for the Multnomah County Library in Oregon was also cancelled. reported the local newspaper The Oregonian.
“Adjaye Associates is no longer associated with the Multnomah County and Eastern County Library Project,” library spokesman Sean Cunningham told the newspaper.
“Holst Architecture has been and remains the principal architect of record for the building, which will continue through design and construction as planned. County declines to comment further.”
Suspension of work on the Holocaust Memorial
Adjaye’s involvement in the design of the UK’s Holocaust memorial, which he was set to design with Israeli architect Ron Arad, has also been put on hold, according to A report in the New York Times.
A spokesman for the British ministry overseeing the memorial told the newspaper that “Sir David will not be involved in the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation project until the issues raised have been addressed.”
In a statement to The New York Times, Adjaye said he is also stepping down from ceremonial and guardianship roles so that the allegations do not become a “distraction.”
The allegations against Eng, which were disclosed in Article for the British newspaper The Financial Times (FT).from three women who worked for him in 2018 and 2019, including sexual harassment and assault.
The women have reportedly said that dealings with Adjaye caused them serious mental anguish, financial hardship and disruption to their careers. According to the Financial Times, she corroborated their accounts by looking at emails, text messages, contemporary documents and interviewing colleagues, friends and family members who captured them.
Adjaye denies ‘painful’ allegations
Adjaye has denied these allegations. In a response to the Financial Times, he said: “I completely reject any allegations of sexual misconduct, abuse or criminal wrongdoing. These allegations are untrue, upsetting to me and my family, and contradict everything I stand for.”
He added, “I am ashamed to say that I entered into relationships that, while completely consensual, blurred the boundaries between my professional and personal lives.”
“I am deeply sorry. To restore trust and accountability, I will immediately seek professional assistance to learn from these mistakes to ensure they never happen again.”
Adjaye is one of the most prominent architects currently working in Britain and was awarded the prestigious RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 2021 at a ceremony that included a speech from former US President Barack Obama.
He was awarded a knighthood for services to architecture in 2017 and became the fifth architect to be appointed to the British Order of Merit.
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