Adjaye Associates has opened a new studio in Accra, establishing a base for the practice while creating a public-facing space for cultural conversations and creative exchange.
The studio reflects the continued development of the firm’s presence in the city and its commitment to engaging with the wider creative community.
A substantial ground-floor space has been designed to accommodate talks, conversations, exhibitions, gatherings and other public activities. It is intended to serve as a meeting point for people working across different creative disciplines.
The ground floor can accommodate different uses and scales of gatherings, from smaller conversations and workshops to larger public events. According to the firm, this flexibility reflects its intention to allow the programme to develop organically over time rather than follow a fixed institutional model.
The studio forms part of Adjaye Associates’ growing presence in Accra and reflects its broader interest in architecture as a means of creating conditions for public life and cultural exchange.
Designed by David Adjaye, the four-storey building is located in Cantonments, one of Accra’s most central and established neighbourhoods. Its defining features include a finned façade and a 26-metre cantilever that creates more than 1,300 square metres of column-free office space.
The building incorporates rammed earth and low-carbon concrete, which the firm says reflect its commitment to environmental performance and the use of local materials.
Designed to accommodate up to 180 people, the studio also strengthens collaboration across the practice’s international offices. Kofi Bio, chief executive of the firm’s Ghana office, has said that the practice operates studios in London, New York and Accra, which collaborate as one practice.
Background on Adjaye Associates
Adjaye Associates is a global architecture practice founded by Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye. The Accra studio provides the firm with a base for working across the African continent and collaborating with Ghanaian architects, designers and students.
The practice has an extensive portfolio of projects in Ghana and internationally. In Accra, it designed the Bank of Ghana’s Bank Square headquarters, which houses 25 departments and 2,500 employees. It also worked with the Wish4Life Foundation on the International Children’s Cancer Research Centre in Ghana.
