"To coincide aith the completion of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washinton, DC, David Adjaye reflects on the thinking behind his architecture in a series of transcript based essays ... "--Back cover.

Geography and architecture in Africa : African cities -- Talking about form : Pavilions -- Houses as spatial systems : Houses -- Matt and sheen, material strategies 1996-2016 : Making public buildings -- Light and the city : Sugar Hill -- Toward black : Francis A. Gregory Library ; William O. Lockridge Library -- Constructed narratives : National Museum of African American History and Culture -- Activating the section : Aïshti Foundation ; Alara Concept Store -- Urban systems : Piety Bridge and Wharf -- Biennale City : Venice 2015.

This book brings together essays and several recently completed buildings by David Adjaye, in the United States and elsewhere. In the essays, Adjaye shows how his approach to the design of temporary pavilions and furniture, private houses, and installations at the 2015 Venice Biennale feeds into his designs for public buildings. Other essays discuss his engagement with geography, the urban environment, his approach to materiality, and architectural types. The presented projects include two public libraries and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, all in Washington D.C., a residential mixed-use building in New York, and a hybrid art-retail building in Beirut. Two of Adjaye's current projects are also included.