David Adjaye, the acclaimed Ghanaian British architect who designed the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., resigned from a number of positions on Tuesday after The Financial Times reported that three former employees had accused him of sexual harassment and misconduct.
Mr Adjaye resigned as architectural consultant to the Mayor of London, and his work on a British Holocaust memorial was suspended after The Financial Times reported that three women, who were not named, had accused him and his firm of various forms of exploitation . — from alleged assault and sexual harassment by him to a toxic work culture — which have gone unchecked for years.
In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Adjaye denied the allegations. “I absolutely disclaim any and all claims of sexual misconduct, abuse or criminal misconduct,” he said in the statement, which was released by Kendal Advisory, a communications and crisis management firm. “These allegations are untrue, distressing to me and my family and contrary to everything I stand for.”
Mr Adjaye added that he was “embarrassed to say I entered into relationships which, while completely consensual, blurred the lines between my professional and personal life.” He was “deeply sorry,” he said, and “will immediately seek professional help to learn from these mistakes and make sure they never happen again.”
A Kendal Advisory spokesperson declined to explain what that professional help would entail, describing it as a personal matter.
Adjaye’s design for the acclaimed National Museum of African American History and Culture, on Washington’s National Mall, made him one of the world’s most in-demand architects. His commissions include Ghana’s National Cathedral; a museum in Nigeria to showcase African art; and a multifaith center in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
In the statement, Mr Adjaye said he also relinquished ceremonial roles and trusteeships so that the allegations “would not become a distraction”.
In 2012 Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, appointed Mr Adjaye to a panel of 42 design lawyers who advise the mayor on how to ensure “new buildings and public spaces benefit all Londoners”, according to a press release. He stepped off the panel.
“Sir David Adjaye has stepped down from his role as Design Advocate,” a spokesman for the mayor said in an email.
A spokesperson for the UK ministry overseeing the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Center in London said in an email that the government was “aware of the allegations” and had spoken to Mr Adjaye’s architectural firm. “They have confirmed that Sir David will not be involved in the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation project until the issues raised have been addressed,” the spokesman said.
The Financial Times reported that one of the women alleged that Mr Adjaye had sexually assaulted her, including in a Johannesburg airport bathroom in 2019. It reported that the woman had said she had tried to complain to Mr Adjaye’s company, but her concerns had been dismissed. Mr Adjaye told the newspaper he denied all allegations, including the alleged bathroom attack.
In June, Mr. Adjaye his first residential tower in the United States, 130 William, in Manhattan. He has also designed the planned new Studio Museum in Harlem, a riverside master plan for Cleveland and is in the process of reconstructing the Princeton University Art Museum.
In addition to winning high-profile commissions, Mr. Adjaye has been a prominent advocate for the rights of under-represented groups among architects, including women, over the past decade. In a 2017 interview with Dezeen, an online design magazine, he said he found it “tiring that women are still fighting for gender equality.
“We’re in the 21st century,” he added, “This is such an old story, we should be way past this. I’m ashamed as a man.”
