How Firms Win Cultural Work
Participating in open, international competitions is a tempting way to try to land a major cultural commission. But rarely are they a way a firm establishes its name in the cultural world. Most competitions are won by firms with an already established portfolio of cultural work. And, the majority of cultural projects—and especially those that a burgeoning firm has a chance of winning—are tendered through private, invited competitions or commissioned directly by the board or owners.
Winning cultural work requires a sustained business development strategy: one that focuses on cultivating relationships over competition entries; deep research into which institutions are likely to tender projects through an invited RFP process, leveraging points of alignment between a firm's distinct niche and approach and these potential clients; and communications initiatives that emphasize the firm’s selling points.
Below, we analyze how three architects—David Adjaye, Lina Ghotmeh, and Mariam Issoufou—became prominent architects of cultural institutions.
Adjaye Associates
David Adjaye entered the art world early. He designed artists' homes, studios, and small installations. Over time, he cultivated these connections to establish relationships with gallerists, museum directors, and art patrons—ties that he eventually leveraged into major commissions.
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Completed B.Arch at London South Bank University; won RIBA Bronze Medal
Earned Master’s at Royal College of Art; classmate of artist Chris Ofili
Co-founded first architectural practice Adjaye & Russell
First commission by Ofili: Residence at Fashion Street, London
(leads to other art world introductions)
Founded Adjaye Associates
Designed The Upper Room installation with Ofili (acquired by Tate Britain)
Exhibited at Bohen Foundation in NYC
Ofili invites Adjaye to design space for Ofili’s exhibition at the British Pavilion for the Venice Art Biennale
(puts Adjaye on world stage)
Won Museum of Contemporary Art Denver competition; beat Antoine Predock
(upstart institution founded only 8 years ago)
Won Idea Store competition (London); Nobel Peace Center (Oslo)
Designed ‘Your Black Horizon’ installation at Venice Art Biennale with artist Olafur Eliasson
First solo exhibition at Whitechapel Gallery in London
Completed studio for artists Lorna Simpson & Jim Casebere in Brooklyn
(wins first US project through previous art world connections)
Met filmmaker and artist Isaac Julien through artist Simpson
(gets commissioned for Julien’s artist studio)
Commissioned for Ruby City, San Antonio, by patron Linda Pace
(introduced by artist Isaac Julien)
Completed Rivington Place London
Completed Museum of Contemporary Art Denver
Solo exhibition at Studio Museum in Harlem
(first US show; gets introduced to museum director and curator Thelma Golden)
Won Smithsonian’s NMAAHC competition with SmithGroup
(beat five other prominent firms, major breakthrough)
Completed Isaac Julien Studio
Commissioned for the Studio Museum in Harlem by Golden
(sustained institutional ties after 2007 solo exhibition)
Completed Smithsonian’s NMAAHC, Washington, D.C
(unlocks steady pipeline of cultural work)
Won Princeton University Art Museum competition with Cooper Robertson
Completed Ruby City, San Antonio
Won Art & Kiran Nadar Cultural Center, New Delhi invited competition
Directly commissioned W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Complex, Accra
Won Abrahamic Family House, Abu Dhabi competition
Completed Abrahamic Family House, Abu Dhabi
Completed Studio Museum in Harlem
Completed Princeton University Art Museum
Highlights
David Adjaye (right) and Chris Ofili (middle) at the New York Knoll Home Design Shop event (2014). Courtesy of Knoll.
Ruby City, San Antonio (2019). Photo credit Dror Baldinger.
Residential and studio design leads to major cultural commission: Ruby City
Adjaye and artist Chris Ofili met as students at the RCA. Ofili hired Adjaye to redesign his house at Fashion Street in 1999; the two collaborated on a gallery installation later acquired by Tate Britain in 2002; and went on to co-create the British Pavilion at the 2003 Venice Art Biennale that put Adjaye on the world stage.
His previous work with artists in London won Adjaye his first US commission in 2006: private studios in Brooklyn for artists Lorna Simpson and Jim Casebere. Adjaye then met British filmmaker and installation artist Isaac Julien through Simpson (Issac is a contributor on Simspon’s 2006 monograph), who soon hired him to design his studio as well as introduced Adjaye to art patron Linda Pace. Pace visited Adjaye’s studio, was drawn to his work, and directly commissioned him for Ruby City in San Antonio before her passing in 2007. Following the recession, the Linda Pace Foundation broke ground on the project in 2017 and it was opened to the public in 2019.
Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver (2007). Courtesy of Adjaye Associates.
National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington (2016). Photo credit Alan Karchmer.
Identifying and establishing ties with an upstart institution gains US entry: Museum of Contemporary Art Denver
In 2004, Adjaye had never built a public building in the United States. Most major cultural institutions would not consider an architect who hadn't built there, but the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver was different. The Museum was founded only 8 years before it commissioned its permanent home through an open competition in 2004. Without an entrenched board, the institution was more flexible in selecting Adjaye—with whom then director Cydney Payton shared an interest in envisioning the building “as an explosion of city life”, which Adjaye’s proposal seemed to convincingly do with the idea of “supporting instead of defining the museum’s mission”. Adjaye's proposal won against five other international finalists, including Antoine Predock. The project was completed in 2007.
So, in 2009, when the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. announced an open competition for the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), Adjaye had completed a major museum building in the United States, and had 16 years of smaller arts-related projects under his belt. Though only 43, Adjaye leveraged this experience to position himself as a promising Black architect capable of representing African American history (BBC documentary ‘Building Africa: Architecture of a Continent’ and 2005 Venice Art Biennale exhibition ‘Your Black Horizon’ with artist Olafur Eliasson).
But, against such formidable competition as DS+R, Foster+Partners, Safdie Architects, Antoine Predock Architect, and Pei Cobb Freed, Adjaye knew that this would not be enough. He was still comparatively young and inexperienced—and, it seemed unthinkable that the Museum of African American History and Culture would go to an architect who wasn't American, even if he was Black.
Adjaye strategically teamed up with African American architect J. Max Bond Jr.; Freelon Group (the largest minority-owned architecture firm in the US); and SmithGroup (a large, well-established architecture-engineering firm that had been involved in the construction of Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian). Together, they beat the other five finalists.
NMAAHC unlocked the door for Adjaye to a steady pipeline of cultural work. Major commissions that followed include Studio Museum in Harlem (awarded in 2015); Princeton University Art Museum (competition won in 2018); Abrahamic Family House (competition won in 2019), and Art & Kiran Nadar Cultural Center (competition won in 2019).
David Adjaye and Thelma Golden (2018). Photo credit Scott Rudd.
Studio Museum in Harlem, New York City (2025). Photo credit Dror Baldinger.
Long-term cultivation of institutional ties results in another major commission: Studio Museum in Harlem
In January 2006, the Whitechapel Gallery in London hosted Adjaye’s first solo exhibition, ‘David Adjaye: Making Public Buildings’, which was accompanied by a book of the same name. Next, the exhibition traveled to the US to be showcased at the Studio Museum in Harlem (2007) and MCA Denver (2008).
Adjaye sustained ties with the Studio Museum in Harlem’s director and chief curator Thelma Golden, as seen in the picture above where he attended the museum’s 45th anniversary event reception (2013) and was invited for a talk with Golden at Philip Johnson’s Glass House (2014). Seven years after his solo exhibition, Adjaye was invited to propose a design for the Studio Museum in Harlem’s new building. Adjaye Associates (with Cooper Robertson) completed the project in fall 2025.
Lina Ghotmeh — Architecture
Lina Ghotmeh took early bets to win high-visibility work. She cultivated connections in Europe and the Middle East to balance her Parisian presence and Lebanese roots—qualifying her for cultural work in both contexts. She formalized the narrative "Archaeology of the Future” to bridge material research with a historically sensitive design approach and decolonial architectural thinking, which ultimately serves as a strong foundation to winning culturally focused projects for her firm.
Timeline
Interned at Ateliers Jean Nouvel, Paris
Completed B.Arch at American University of Beirut
Worked at Norman Foster’s office, London
Won Estonian National Museum open competition with Dan Dorrell and Tsuyoshi Tane
(early bet pays off at age 25; strategically leverages competition win thereafter)
Co-founded DGT Architects in Paris
Appointed Professor at L’Ecole Spéciale d’Architecture, Paris
Awarded AJAP Prize of the French Ministry of Culture
Commissioned Stone Garden Housing, Beirut
(via Paris-born Lebanese photographer friend Fouad El Khoury)
Set design for Matsumoto Performing Arts Centre: The Miraculous Mandarin (DGT)
Set design for Matsumoto Performing Arts Centre: Bluebeards Castle (DGT)
DGT was competition finalist for New National Stadium, Tokyo
Baselworld installation for CITIZEN: Frozen Time (DGT)
Baselworld installation for CITIZEN: Compressed Time (DGT)
Completed Estonian National Museum, Tartu
(wins Grand Prix AFEX 2016 & nomination for Mies Van der Rohe Award 2017)
Founded Lina Ghotmeh – Architecture (LGA)
(formalizes Archaeology of the Future narrative)
Won the Rehabilitation of the Maine-Montparnasse district competition, Paris (with RSHP)
Won Hermès Workshops competition, Normandy
(builds momentum for LGA)
Completed Stone Garden Housing, Beirut
Exhibited Stone Garden at Venice Architecture Biennale
(disseminates design thinking on global stage)
Selected to design the 22nd Serpentine Pavilion, London: À table
Commissioned for two museums by The Royal Commission for AlUla (with architect Asif Khan)
Completed Hermès Workshops, Normandy
Won British Museum Western Range redesign (with Purcell)
(beat OMA, Chipperfield)
Appointed Kenzo Tange Design Critic at Harvard GSD
Designed Qatar Pavilion at Venice Architecture Biennale
Designed Bahrain Pavilion at Expo Osaka
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Highlights
Lina Ghotmeh, Dan Dorrell, and Tsuyoshi Tane showcasing a model of their winning entry "Memory Field" for the Estonian National Museum (2005)
Estonian National Museum, Tartu (2016). Photo credit Takuji Shimmura.
Early bet leads to high-visibility commission: Estonian National Museum
In 2005, at age 25, Ghotmeh won an open international competition alongside Dan Dorrell and Tsuyoshi Tane for the new Estonian National Museum in Tartu, where her design tying Soviet airbase ruins to national identity beat 95 entries. Following the win, Ghotmeh co-founded the practice Dorell Ghotmeh Tane Architects (DGT) in Paris.
While competitions have and still can be a way into the cultural world, the win needs to be strategically leveraged into the next project. This early bet paid off for Ghotmeh, setting her up for national recognition (AJAP Prize of the French Ministry of Culture in 2008) and small but high-profile commissions like the set design for two operas at the Matsumoto Performing Arts Centre, Japan (DGT; completed 2011); Baselworld installation for Japanese watchmakers CITIZEN (DGT; completed 2013); and travelling exhibition space for Renault (DGT; completed 2019).
DGT was also a competition finalist for Japan’s New National Stadium in 2012, alongside major names including Zaha Hadid Architects, Toyo Ito & Associates, UNStudio, Populous, and SANAA.
Photographer Fouad El Khoury
Stone Garden Housing, Beirut (2020). Photo credit Laurian Ghinitoiu.
Landmark Beirut project grows out of personal connection in the art world: Stone Garden Housing
Ghotmeh balanced Parisian presence with her Lebanese roots, making her credible for both European and Middle Eastern cultural projects—especially at a time when decolonial architectural thinking was becoming prevalent in top institutions. In 2010, she met Paris-born Lebanese photographer Fouad El Khoury. Soon after, he commissioned her to realize his vision for an art foundation, archive, and apartments on the land in Beirut he had inherited from his family. Born out of the friendship between El Khoury and Ghotmeh, Stone Garden Housing was completed in 2020 and became a defining project in her now independent practice, Lina Ghotmeh — Architecture’s portfolio, which was founded in 2016. Ghotmeh exhibited the project at the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale.
22nd Serpentine Pavilion, London (2022-23). Photo credit Iwan Baan.
Winning entry for the redesign of the British Museum’s Western Range. Courtesy of LGA.
Decolonial narrative paves way for high-profile wins: Serpentine Galleries to British Museum’s Western Range redesign
Ghotmeh’s formalization of the firm’s narrative, Archaeology of the Future—“exquisite interventions that enliven memories and the senses”—worked in her favor, standing out as a firm deeply engaged in material and historical research, as well as architectural thinking that challenges colonial ideas.
One year after exhibiting Stone Garden Housing in Venice, she was directly appointed by Serpentine Galleries to design the 22nd Serpentine Pavilion—which she envisioned as a social space for people to share food and ideas.
In the following years, she won the competitions for two museums by The Royal Commission for AlUla in Saudi Arabia with architect Asif Khan (2023) and the redesign of the British Museum’s Western Range with executive architect Purcell (2024)—beating 6a Architects, David Chipperfield Architects, Eric Parry Architects & Jamie Fobert Architects, and OMA.
Mariam Issoufou Architects
Mariam Issoufou won her first commissions in her home country Niger. Her locally grounded work led to the Rolex mentorship with David Adjaye, which helped her launch internationally. She turned this opportunity into sustained success by winning independent, high-profile cultural commissions – underpinned by her brand narrative on decolonial architecture and “excavating the past”.
Timeline
Completed BS in Technical Computing at Purdue University
Completed MS in Computer Science at New York University
Completed M.Arch at University of Washington.
Co-founded united4design
Founded Atelier Masōmī, Niamey, Niger (home country)
(establishes a Niamey-based practice in her home country Niger to leverage her robust network there)
Presented her thesis at Milan Triennale as part of “Africa Big Chance Big Change” exhibition
Completed Phase 1 of Niamey 2000 Housing, Niamey, Niger
(shortlisted for 2022 Aga Khan Award)
Completed Hikma Community Complex, Dandaji (with Studio Chahar)
(won LafargeHolcim Awards: Gold, Silver)
Appointed Adjunct Associate Professor in Urban Studies at Brown University
Won Rolex Mentorship with David Adjaye
(personally selected by Adjaye given her built work in Niger)
Designed Niamey Cultural Center, Niamey
(mentored by Adjaye on the project; awarded Prince Claus Award)
Presented Niamey Cultural Center at Rolex Pavilion at Venice Architecture Biennale
(maintains relationship with Rolex to win the 2025 pavilion commission)
Won Canning Dock competition with David Adjaye, Asif Khan, and Theaster Gates
Invited as Aga Khan Design Critic at Harvard GSD
(launches on global stage as an independent architect and thought leader)
Won international competition for Bët-bi Museum, Senegal
(wins a high-profile cultural commission that builds upon post-colonial narrative)
Appointed Full Professor of Architecture Heritage and Sustainability at ETH Zurich
Commissioned by former Liberia’s former president for Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Center
Designed “Process” installation at Giardini, Venice Architecture Biennale (curated by Lesley Lokko)
Rebranded her firm as Mariam Issoufou Architects
Designed Rolex Pavilion at Giardini, Venice Architecture Biennale
(showcases her firm’s approach to sustainability on global stage)
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Highlights
Niamey 2000 Housing, Niamey, Niger (2016). Photo credit T. Seidel.
Hikma Community Complex, Dandaji, Niger (2017). Photo credit James Wang.
Connections in home country lead to defining debut projects: Niamey 2000 Housing and Hikma Community Complex
Issoufou designed her debut project, Niamey 2000 Housing, in home country Niger with classmate Yasaman Esmaili and mentors Elizabeth Golden and Philip Straeter under united4design. It was a low-cost housing project granted through a land donation, the four prototypes for which were built in compressed earth blocks and concrete, and drew inspiration from pre-colonial cities of the region.
Her breakout project on the global stage was the Hikma Community Complex in Dandaji, Niger, which advocated for preserving the village’s historic adobe mosque by converting it into a library, while building a new mosque alongside it. The project won the LafargeHolcim Awards Gold (Middle East Africa) and Silver (Global), gaining her international recognition for culturally grounded design.
David Adjaye and Mariam Issoufou. Courtesy of Rolex.
Canning Dock, Liverpool (2021). Courtesy of David Adjaye, Asif Khan, Mariam Issoufou, and Theaster Gates.
Bët-bi Museum, Senegal. Courtesy of Mariam Issoufou Architects.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development, Liberia. Courtesy of Mariam Issoufou Architects.
Issoufou turns Rolex mentorship with Adjaye into sustained success: From Canning Dock win to two independent cultural commissions
Given her work in Niger, Issoufou was selected by Adjaye as his protégé under the Rolex Mentor & Protégé Arts Initiative in 2018. He mentored her on the design of the Niamey Cultural Center, the city’s first public cultural complex, which won her the Prince Claus Award in 2019. In 2021, she presented the project at the Rolex Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale.
In 2021, she was also on the winning team with Adjaye, designer Asif Khan, and artist Theaster Gates for the redesign of Canning Dock, which is part of National Museums Liverpool's 10-year plan to transform the city's waterfront—a site that historically served to repair ships used in the transatlantic slave trade. The team beat shortlisted competitors including BIG and OMMX, and sowed the seed for Issoufou’s thought leadership on decolonial architecture. Despite the project's cancellation later, Issoufou leveraged it as another opportunity to put her name on the global stage.
While her connection to Adjaye helped propel Issoufou in international spotlight, she turned that into a successful independent practice known for culturally sensitive work for high-profile clients. In 2022, she won the international competition to design the Bët-bi Museum in Senegal, commissioned by the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation and Le Korsa—a place for the return of art lost to colonial loot. In 2023, former president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf personally chose Issoufou for Liberia’s presidential library.
Rolex Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale (2021). Photo credit Reto Albertalli.
Rolex Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale (2025). Photo credit Matthieu Gafsou.
Maintains relationship with Rolex to showcase her firm’s approach on global stage: Rolex Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale
In 2025, she was independently commissioned by Rolex to design their pavilion for the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale at Giardini, which she designed in collaboration with architects Anne Lacaton and Arine Aprahamian. This was an opportunity for Issoufou to showcase her firm’s unique approach to materiality and sustainability on global stage, combined with a distinct narrative of “excavating the past”—something she has been speaking about in press and in an academic capacity but hadn’t demonstrated in a completed building since the work in Niger.
Key Takeaways
Relationships > RFPs
Major projects came through personal connections, direct introductions, and mentorships, not always open calls. Creating and cultivating relationships is an essential leg of any BD strategy to win cultural work.
Niche first, scale later
Building credibility through small projects that are hyper-aligned with an architect’s niche opens the door to translate that into larger, more internationally visible work down the line.
Background alignment
Deep research into the history, board, and patrons of cultural institutions provides critical insight into what the client’s priorities are, which are not always explicitly stated in RFPs. This tells the architect what to leverage most: points of alignment between the potential client and a firm's distinct niche, identity, and approach.
Consistent narrative
Maintaining a recognizable narrative through consistent cultural storytelling and themes focused on heritage, materiality, local grounding, etc. helps build the foundation to make a compelling and convincing case to potential clients, and emphasize the firm’s selling points.
How Future-Future Can Help
Future–Future advises on how firms communicate their identity, position themselves to identify new project opportunities, cultivate new markets, and win new work. Our communications and PR efforts work in tandem with the firm's commercial objectives, delivered as part of an integrated service offering. We collaborate with architects to develop comprehensive business strategies that support successful succession planning and long-term practice growth, ensuring continuity while embracing new opportunities.
