The Council for the Arts at MIT announced that British architect David Adjaye, Hon. FAIA, is the latest recipient of the Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts at MIT. Adjaye will receive $100,000 and a brief residency at MIT next spring, which will include several public events. He will be officially awarded on March 29 of next year.
The prize, created in 1974, is given to “individuals whose artistic trajectory and body of work indicate that they will achieve the highest distinction as leaders in their fields.” While the 2016 recipient is an architect, the award can be given to artists in a variety of fields. Other architects who have received the award include Santiago Calatrava, FAIA; Diller + Scofidio; Thomas Hanrahan & Victoria Meyers, AIA; and I. M. Pei, FAIA.
Adjaye founded his London practice, Adjaye Associates, in 2000. His firm was part of the team behind the under-construction National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the firm’s design for the new Studio Museum in Harlem was released in July.
