David Adjaye is recognised as one of the leading architects of his generation. He formed a partnership in 1994 and quickly built a reputation as an architect with an artistry vision. The architectural community and the wider public have a high regard for his bespoke design, ingenious use of materials and showcasing of light.

He reformed his studio in June 2000 as Adjaye/Associates and has gone on to win a number of prestigious commissions. He understands his status as a role model for young people and lectures frequently. Adjaye has presented lectures at Harvard's Graduate School of Design, Architectural Association, Universidad de Luisdad in Lisbon, Cornell, Yale, Art Centre College of Design, Los Angeles, the Royal College of Art, Cambridge and Norsk Forum in Oslo. Currently he is a unit tutor at the Architectural Association. He has been a lecturer at the Royal College of Art where he received his MA in Architecture in 1993. That same year he was awarded the RIBA First Prize Bronze Medal.

In May 2005, Thames & Hudson published Adjaye's first book entitled David Adjaye Houses: Recycling, Reconfiguring, Rebuilding. In 2006 Whitechapel Art Gallery exhibited the studio's first solo exhibition, Adjaye/Associates: Making Public Buildings.