Asaase Rammed Earth sculpture displayed at Gagosian Museum, Manhattan.

Asaase

A Curved Rammed Earth Sculpture Bridging Craft, Culture, and Movement

Manhattan, New York

2021

Some works of art invite you to pause. Asaase invites you to stand between walls of Earth - to feel memory, place, and craftsmanship at once.

Created in 2021 as David Adjaye’s first large-scale autonomous sculpture, Asaase draws from West African architectural traditions - the Tiébélé royal complex in Burkina Faso, the walled city of Agadez in Niger - places where soil and community shaped spaces for gathering. The piece explores the origins of Black architecture, speaking to heritage and the temporal nature of place.

Our task was to bring this vision into form. We built Asaase in an Albany, New York salt warehouse, ramming curved walls in blocks so they could travel. Every segment was engineered to fit the smallest forklift in the chain - the one at the Gagosian Museum in Manhattan - ensuring each block could be lifted, shipped, and set with precision.

Once in New York, the blocks were assembled into a labyrinth of nested Rammed Earth walls that rise to a conical point, echoing earthen structures across Africa while inhabiting a modern gallery. Later, when the sculpture was acquired, the art installation was carefully disassembled and reassembled it for its next chapter.

Asaase proves that Rammed Earth can be monumental and mobile, ancient and contemporary, cultural and technical - all in one enduring form.

  • Wide gallery view of Asaase curved Rammed Earth walls under spotlights.
  • Gallery lighting accentuating warm tones of Asaase Rammed Earth sculpture.
  • Workers compacting soil layers to form Asaase curved Rammed Earth block in Albany warehouse.
  • Curved plywood forms prepared for Asaase Rammed Earth wall segment.
  • Rammed Earth lift lines visible inside formwork during Asaase build.
  • Crew ramming stabilized soil into mold for Asaase sculpture block.
  • Freshly tamped Asaase block with exposed layers after form removal.
  • Detail of hand smoothing surface of Asaase Rammed Earth wall lift.
  • Overhead view of construction team shaping Asaase Rammed Earth sections.
  • Workers removing panels to reveal finished Asaase Rammed Earth curve.
  • Rammed earth formwork
  • Crew inspecting thickness and strength of Asaase curved wall section.
  • Tall rammed earth wall being rammed in custom forms

Let’s Build Something Solid

A great project starts with a good plan. Fill out the form below and let’s talk about how Rammed Earth can give your space strength, character, and lasting beauty.