Educated in England, David Adjaye's lifelong dream was to return to
Africa as an architect to document the continent's built environment.
Over a decade, he tirelessly documented these dynamic, colorful cities,
photographing thousands of buildings, sites, and public spaces, and
letting each building speak for itself. The result was a stunning
seven-volume work that has become an essential resource for all those
interested in the burgeoning continent.
The fifty-three cities featured in this remarkable study are grouped
according to the terrain in which they are set: the Maghreb (north
Africa); Desert; Sahel (the semi-arid transitional region between the
Sahara and the south); Forest; Savannah and Grassland; and Mountain and
Highveld. Each metropolis is illuminated by a concise urban history,
maps, and satellite imagery, along with the dozens of photographs Adjaye
has taken with an architect's eye. This compact edition selects the
highlights from over 4,000 buildings and places captured for the initial
seven-volume work. The result is one of the most original, ambitious,
and important architectural publications of our time.