Francis Gregory Library, Washington, D.C., Adjaye Associates, 2012. Photo © Edmund Summers

• First, Adjaye talked about the setting for Francis Gregory Library (above), which was completed in June. (We feature the library in our October issue.) Located at the edge of Fort Davis Park in southeast D.C., the two-story pavilion is also part of a neighborhood of Georgian-style townhouses. "We wanted to make something classical in its formal composition," as well as "a folly at the edge of the forest," says Adjaye.
  

Photo © Iwan Baan

• Next, Adjaye discussed his Moscow School of Management in Skolkovo, Russia (above). Adjaye Associates'  Closing out his presentation and the day, Adjaye discussed his commission for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in D.C., the 22nd and last Smithsonian to be built on the Mall. "What an incredible treasure for the country, and what an incredible honor to be part of that lineup," says Adjaye. Record was asked not to record Adjaye's presentation or circulate images of the design. "It is a narrative museum. It talks about the African American experience in America ... it is a lens to understand monumental moments in American history. It’s a celebration of that incredibly powerful history," says the architect.