The architecture and built environment of African cities are documented in groundbreaking photographs by acclaimed architect David Adjaye. David Adjaye is renowned for his highly acclaimed buildings in Europe and the United States. Of Tanzanian descent but raised and educated in London, he has found endless inspiration for his modern buildings in Africa. This book is the culmination of a personal quest--a decadelong project to document the built environment of every major African city.
Adjaye has photographed thousands of structures and places, letting each speak for itself in contrast to a design world obsessed with photorealistic slickness. Fifty-three cities are featured, arranged by terrain and region, including: the Maghreb, the Sahel, Savannah and Grassland, Mountain and Highveld, Desert, and Forest. Each is presented with a concise urban history, fact file, maps, and satellite imagery along with the photographs and essays by leading scholars and critics.
This handsome seven-volume slipcased edition is one of the most original and ambitious publications of our time and is sure to be among the great architectural collectibles.
"His engagement embracing and critical comes through in the pictures. Stunning." ~The New York Times
"Africa's cities are as absorbing as the bush...African Metropolitan Architecture is an invaluable reference." ~Time Magazine
"Our first pick: African Metropolitan Architecture (Rizzoli), the sublime new book by David Adjaye." ~MediaBistro.com
"...a major work, the result of 10 years of travel to 52 African countries." ~Miami Herald