A complete overview of architecture in fifty-three African cities, seen through the eyes and images of one of the world’s leading young architects Educated in England, David Adjaye’s lifelong dream was to return to Africa as an architect to document the continent’s built environment. Over a decade, he tirelessly documented these dynamic, colorful cities, photographing thousands of buildings, sites, and public spaces, and letting each building speak for itself. The result was a stunning seven-volume work that has become an essential resource for all those interested in the burgeoning continent. The fifty-three cities featured in this remarkable study are grouped according to the terrain in which they are set: the Maghreb (north Africa); Desert; Sahel (the semi-arid transitional region between the Sahara and the south); Forest; Savannah and Grassland; and Mountain and Highveld. Each metropolis is illuminated by a concise urban history, maps, and satellite imagery, along with the dozens of photographs Adjaye has taken with an architect’s eye. This compact edition selects the highlights from over 4,000 buildings and places captured for the initial seven-volume work. The result is one of the most original, ambitious, and important architectural publications of our time.

"David Adjaye, a major international figure in architecture and design, transforms complex ideas into approachable, innovative structures. The book contains an introduction by Okwui Enwezor and Zèoe Ryan; an essay by Adjaye himself; analyses of his master plans, transnational architecture, monuments and memorials, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.; and portfolios of his work, grouped by theme"--

David Adjaye is one of the world's most exciting and accomplished architects, and has built many highly acclaimed houses and public buildings in the UK and USA. Over a ten-year period, the Tanzanian born, London-based architect has visited 53 major African cities and photographed thousands of buildings, sites and places that few of us will ever be able to visit. This 7-volume set documents Adjaye's tribute to African metropolitan architecture. The individual volumes present cities according to the terrain in which they are situated: the Maghreb, Desert, The Sahel, Savannah and Grassland, Mountain and Highveld, and Forest. Each city is shown in a concise urban history, fact file, maps and satellite imagery, along with Adjaye's personal travel notes and dozens of photographs of the city's civic, commercial and residential architecture. All six terrain volumes feature an introductory essay by Adjaye, and a separate volume is dedicated to essays by leading academics and commentators on Africa.

A new edition of the most comprehensive survey of modern architecture in Africa to date. When the first edition of African Modernism was published in 2015, it was received with international praise and has been sought after constantly ever since it went out of print in 2018. Marking Park Books' 10th anniversary, this landmark book becomes available again in a new edition. In the 1950s and 1960s, most African countries gained independence from their respective colonial power. Architecture became one of the principal means by which the newly formed countries expressed their national identity. African Modernism investigates the close relationship between architecture and nation-building in Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, and Zambia. It features one hundred buildings with brief descriptive texts, images, site plans, and selected floor plans and sections. The vast majority of images were newly taken by Iwan Baan and Alexia Webster for the book's first edition. Their photographs document the buildings in their present state. Each country is portrayed in an introductory text and a timeline of historic events. Further essays on postcolonial Africa and specific aspects and topics, also illustrated with images and documents, round out this outstanding volume.

The most exciting and accomplished young architect to emerge on the international scene in many years, David Adjaye uses an artist's clarity of concept to create an engaging architecture that concentrates on materials and issues of place and identity. Born in Tanzania into a diplomatic family, Adjaye enjoyed a wide-ranging formal and cultural education, which has allowed him to respond deftly and instinctively to wildly differing projects, avoiding conventional solutions and seeking to open up new possibilities. The innovation in Adjaye's career is exemplified in his residential works, which show careful experimentation and exquisite nuances. Perhaps his best-known houses are those constructed in a range of settings for people such as artist Chris Ofili and actor Ewan McGregor. Four essential components make up this, Adjaye's first monograph: an introduction by Stuart Hall; a documentation of thirteen of Adjaye's most important projects, over half of which are published here in full for the first time, presented through descriptions, detailed plans and photographs; a series of visual essays that highlight the tactile, luminous and luxurious nature of Adjaye's work; and essays from cultural critics who have been touched by his buildings.

A dazzling tour of fifteen contemporary houses designed by David Adjaye, one of the most influential architects of his generation Houses or domestic buildings are often among the first projects young architects design. For David Adjaye, such early commissions connected him to a rising generation of creators with whom he shared a range of sensibilities. His artistry, clever use of space, and inexpensive, unexpected materials resulted in many innovative and widely published houses. After fifteen years of practice and a raft of high-profile projects around the world—including the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC—houses represent a smaller portion of Adjaye’s work but are more potent as a result. Selecting projects that are challenging because of their sites, complexity, or architectural possibility, Adjaye has both expanded and sharpened his domestic design, taking it in new directions and to new locations. This monograph presents the fifteen finest and most recent examples, from Africa to Brooklyn, from desolate farmlands to urban jungles. Chronicled through informed descriptions and detailed and photographically rich visual documentation, the results testify to the importance of Adjaye’s growing inventiveness and provide powerful ideas for residential architecture.

An authoritative survey situating some of the Western world’s most renowned buildings within a millennium of Islamic history Some of the most outstanding examples of world architecture, such as the Mosque of Córdoba, the ceiling of the Cappella Palatina in Palermo, the Giralda tower in Seville, and the Alhambra Palace in Granada, belong to the Western Islamic tradition. This architectural style flourished for over a thousand years along the southern and western shores of the Mediterranean—between Tunisia and Spain—from the 8th century through the 19th, blending new ideas with local building practices from across the region. Jonathan M. Bloom’s Architecture of the Islamic West introduces readers to the full scope of this vibrant tradition, presenting both famous and little-known buildings in six countries in North Africa and southern Europe. It is richly illustrated with photographs, specially commissioned architectural plans, and historical documents. The result is a personally guided tour of Islamic architecture led by one of the finest scholars in the field and a powerful testament to Muslim cultural achievement.