Grinnell College administrators say the College has ended its business relationship with Adjaye Associates, the firm that designed the Edith Renfrow Smith `37 Civic Engagement Quad (CEQ). Sir David Adjaye, the founder of the firm, has faced a number of sexual assault and harassment allegations since July 2023. The College said it ended its business relationship prior to the allegations.
On July 3, 2023, the Financial Times reported that three female former employees accused Sir David Adjaye of sexual assault and harassment, and accused Adjaye Associates’ London and Accra branches of maintaining a toxic work culture.
These claims were immediately refuted by Adjaye himself, but in the following months, several institutions distanced themselves from his firm, some hiring new design partners to replace Adjaye Associates. These institutions included Rice University, which ‘reset’ plans for an Adjaye-designed student center project in August, and the Africa Institute, which canceled a forthcoming campus building project in July.
As other institutions publicly reconsidered their ties to Adjaye Associates, Grinnell College released a statement on July 10, 2023, reading, “The College acknowledges that these are serious and troubling allegations. We are committed to listening to all voices and reassessing any relationship with Adjaye Associates as more information emerges.”
The College’s statement specified that the CEQ was designed by a team based out of Adjaye Associates’ New York office. The allegations published by the Financial Times specifically focused on the work culture in Adjaye Associates’ London and Accra offices.
Seven months later, on Feb. 13, 2024, Grinnell College President Anne Harris wrote in an email to The S&B that Grinnell College is “no longer engaged with Adjaye Associates.”
More specifically, “there is no longer a business relationship between the College and Adjaye,” wrote Ellen de Graffenreid, vice president for communication and marketing, in an email to The S&B. De Graffenreid wrote that alongside a team of New York-based architects, “Sir David Adjaye was involved in the initial conceptualization” of the CEQ.
“We are deeply sorry for all those impacted by Sir David Adjaye’s behavior. The reports of sexual assault, harassment and a toxic workplace were profoundly disturbing,” wrote Harris.
Though Adjaye himself was involved in the initial design phase, Harris wrote, “at the time that the allegations of sexual assault and harassment were published, in July 2023, the work on the design was complete.”
Architects from the New York office of Adjaye Associates began collaborating with the College on the CEQ project beginning in the fall of 2019. In the fall of 2019 and spring of 2020, two members of the firm, including David Adjaye, visited Grinnell to conduct ‘listening sessions’ to inform the CEQ’s eventual design.
The CEQ’s design was completed in 2022 after three years of planning. The Grinnell College Board of Trustees approved the CEQ plan on Oct. 1, 2022. Construction began two months later, in December of 2022. At this point, oversight of the project was transferred to OPN Architects, a Midwest-based firm serving as the architects of record. As the architects of record, OPN manages construction administration along with Weitz Co., the contracting firm carrying out the CEQ’s construction.
Despite the fact that the College’s involvement with Adjaye Associates predates the publication of allegations against Adjaye, some students feel that more institutional recognition of the situation is still necessary.
“I think it would have been difficult to cut ties at the point in the project that they were at,” said Neva Zamil `27. “That being said, I think sexual assault is an issue that is very prevalent on this campus.”
Zamil said that her opinion is informed by a background in years of work surrounding issues of sexual assault and Title IX.
“I want to see this college put forth stronger stances on sexual assault and Title IX issues. I think this is an especially important time for Grinnell administration to make it known that they don’t stand for that,” she said.
“I would like to see the school putting forth a message that the ultimate goal is honoring a woman who deserves to be honored,” Zamil added. “And unfortunately in the process of this business relationship, allegations came out that change the nature of the respect that we put with that architect.”
The project is expected to be completed and dedicated by the fall of 2024, at which point the CEQ should be a fully operational student residence hall.
