Adjaye wins design contest for Indian art museum

David Adjaye has won an international design competition for an art museum in New Delhi.

The architect beat off entries from 47 practices including finalists Snohetta and Selldorf. Each of the five shortlisted practices received an honorarium of £25,000 plus expenses for travel to India.

The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art & Kiran Nadar Cultural Centre will be built in New Delhi as a contemporary art museum and a venue for dance, music and creative education. The new building will allow the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art to share its world-class collection of art with a bigger audience.

The judges, who included Mrs Nadar, former Tate Modern director Chris Dercon, MoMA director Glenn Lowry and competition organiser Malcolm Reading, were unanimous in their decision.

They said the winning team’s “veil of triangles” design – a reference to the sacred geometries of trees and mountains – was “a visually and emotionally engaging building that was alive, dancing and timeless”

Adjaye said: “This is our first cultural commission in India. The new building will celebrate and foster public interest in contemporary art, culture and creative partnerships and enable KNMA to continue their admirable pursuit of engaging younger audiences and future generations with one of the finest and most diverse collections of Indian modern and contemporary art.”