Skip to main content

A Monumental Career 


Sir David Adjaye infuses his artistic sensibilities with an ethos for community-driven projects. 

Sir David Adjaye sketching

Billionaire sat down with award-winning British-Ghanaian architect Sir David Adjaye, as the decanter he designed for an 80-year-old whisky from Gordon & MacPhail, the oldest Single Malt Scotch whisky ever bottled, goes up for charity auction on 7 October. Auction proceeds, via Sotheby’s Hong Kong, are being donated to local Scottish charity Trees for Life, whose mission is to rewild the Caledonian forest. 

Billionaire: You are well known for the social aspects of your work: building monuments, hospitals and often doing pro bono work. Why is this important to you? 

Sir David Adjaye: It’s one thing to craft a building but if it is not transforming the lives of most, it’s limited; it’s inspirational but it’s limited.  

What does design mean to you? 

Since opening my office I’ve been committed to democratising high design, it should serve as an edifying agenda for everyone. I think design should be for everyone and should be everywhere. I separate design from luxury in its traditional sense; just because it is made from marble and gold does not mean it is good design. Critical thinking that is brought to something that really aims to make an experience of the user measurably better: that is design. 

Why do you like designing memorials and monuments, such as the Cherry Groce Memorial Pavilion and the UK Holocaust Memorial? 

I think memorials are one of those fantastic elements of cities. A great city is always celebrating and according monumental and influential moments. Since the beginning of the 21st century, with the advent of the internet, we’ve almost forgotten that culture. For me, it is an assault on the physical world in terms of the sense of renewal. The city itself also needs renewal as different generations and values come through, and monuments are part of our understanding of cities. I like the idea that every generation adds something visible to a city to show what they believe in and the lessons learned, so that other generations can learn from it.  

Brian Williams of Gordon & MacPhail preparing an oak sapling for planting with charity partner Trees for Life

Which of your projects are you proudest of? 

I love each project, even when it’s very mundane. The Smithsonian in Washington DC [Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, completed 2016] was so long overdue; it was such a unique project as it was a museum and also a memorial to the horrors of slavery and so many lost lives. It also celebrates the achievements of so many descendants of slaves and what they add to the country called America. People go in and they say, ‘oh my god, I thought I knew the story but I didn’t’. 

With a team of 200 in your studio in London, how hands-on are you? 

I’m a workaholic and obsessive. Nothing gets done without me. I’m at the beginning of every project and maintain the relationship until the work is delivered. 

How did the whisky decanter project come about? 

The team from Gordon & MacPhail approached me and, fortunately, I love whisky. When I came to make the decanter, I’m an architect, so I approached it like a small building. I call it the Tempietto, ‘little temple’. There’s the idea you could keep it as a desirable, tactile object, forever and keep it as an ornament. It is inspired by whisky: everything starts with oak, and this design pays tribute to the role oak plays in transforming liquid into an elixir with almost magical properties. After conceptualisation, the barrel took about a year to perfect. We needed to invent a new hinge for this opening mechanism that would allow this magic trick of opening and letting go and it not slamming shut. Then there were dozens of glass-blowing experiments: all these insane things I asked people to do such as blowing a cube of glass. It was amazing; so many firsts. 

Craftsmen from Glencairn Crystal handcutting the decanter for Gordon & Macphail's oldest single malt

What has the pandemic meant for you? 

The reduction of flying has been an extraordinary benefit, as I have spent much more time with my wife and children at our home in Ghana, along with the introduction of this medium, Zoom, that means I can work more from home. There are great things about work-life balance that we’ve all learned.