——— JAYDEN ALI ———

Today we get to share with the world #DancingBeforetheMoon a new exhibition for the #BritishPavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia 2023 curated by myself, @josephzealhenry @mishkk and @sumitraup and commissioned by @britisharts Through six architectural scale installations, alongside a new film and soundtrack, the exhibition celebrates rituals – everyday social practices, customs and traditions – that define and add richness to our world and our built environment. — The artwork picture is ‘Thunder & Şimşek’ by myself. Fabricated by @jamps_studio_london The project has had the kind support of @ja__projects and @sound_x_advice plus many many many others. Photos: @taranwilkhu #venicebiennale #labiennaledivenezia

Up in East London - Stepney, Mile End, Bow Road, Whitechapel, Limehouse, Shadwell + more... all places of my teens. So stoked to be part of the amazing @zeibatchelor campaign celebrating East London makers. A campaign (and museum) for the next generation. 'If you can see it, you can be it' comes to mind. Shout to all the east end makers before, now and in the future! Big thanks to the whole production team including @evonnemackenzie for forever championing the studio. 💚 Full credits: Director & Photographer @zeibatchelor Creative @hattiejamesweed Producer @effierosetheos Agency @weareportas Client Lead romilia Chief strategy director @jasongonsalves

I have a long-held dream to design a stadium of sorts. A dream rooted in a dedication to public places capable of supporting community and celebration in the round – through the textures of everyday life: performance, fashion, art, food and music. Which is why my conversation with @lennagw – professional @spurswomen football player and @nike athlete – and Chris Lee – Global Head of Design at @wearepopulous and architect of the @spursofficial stadium Lenna plays in – in the latest issue of @amagazinecuratedby (in collaboration with @nike ) meant so much to me. Together, we explore the stadium as a 'sacred ground' and contemporary cathedral – a place shaped by ritual, congregation, and the shared space of hopes and fears. I am so grateful to @blakeabbie and the @nike team for producing such a gorgeous magazine, and for giving me the chance to be in dialogue with those who are the absolute best in their fields. Big shout to @lennagw on recently becoming a European Champion too! What a G. ‘A Manual for Living Curated with Nike’ – in all good places that matter.

In the summer of 2005 it was announced that London would host the 2012 Olympics. The period leading up to that was filled with revision for my GCSEs, training for the upcoming track and field season at Mile End, and the promise of East London transformation – a so-called ‘Olympic legacy’. I’ve spoken a lot about my work experience within the team designing the Olympics, and my experience of the Olympic Park when it was still home to Turkish weddings, under 18 raves, and Club EQ. But it’s only dawned on me recently that the narrative around the Olympics – and its impact – played such a critical role in seeding an interest in who gets to design parts of the city, ultimately leading to my interest in architecture and my life today. My pole vault aspirations didn’t quite play out the way I hoped, but I am still a beneficiary of that Olympic dream. The dream that allowed a young kid to see a future, to broaden their horizons, to enter into dialogue with the world – to understand the magic of transformation and to hold big and lofty goals. This is the context through which I see mine and @ja__projects contribution to the @vam_east – an institution dedicated to young people, and one that fills a gap in both the Olympic Park and that wider promise. That 21 years later, the kid whose life was shaped by that moment can play a part in designing another moment which offers a portal into the world – prompting young people to create and make, and supporting them to do so – still feels like a miracle. The museum is smaller than the Olympics, but no less – and probably more – potent. I'm someways I am the poster child of what happens when horizons are broadened, when interest is supported, and when promise (however raw) is invested in. To see posters of myself dotted around East London, or on the Olympic Stadium, is unreal. But the most unreal thing is that, in helping bring this museum to life, there will be – and already is – a whole host of other young people who will go on to do far more. And to me, that is the Olympic legacy we dreamed of. ---- Over two decades there are too many to thank - there is more to come, thank you for getting me here. 🩵💛🖤💚❤️

Yesterday, we welcomed the world to V&A East Museum - @vam_east - and a suite of exhibition spaces that offer new perspectives, frame unlikely pairing and pays homage to East London’s unique sense of community, creativity and connection. — It's been an absolute pleasure to work with the incredible team at V&A East – especially the amazing Youth Collective – alongside both familiar and new collaborators such as @apracticeforeverydaylife @larryachiampong @studiozna @urgecollective , within the generous building architecture of @odonnell_tuomey V&A East Museum opens to the public from Saturday April 18th . — Photo/s by @dwp.photo

Social justice, community and connection shape the output of multidisciplinary practice @ja__projects . In our latest issue, we talk to its founder, east London-born architect @jaydenaali , about projects ranging from the 2025 redesign of Newham’s Queen’s Market to new galleries for the soon-to-open @vam_east . Ali’s studio is filled with reference material, including samples for Camberwell Station Road, a regeneration project designed in collaboration with the local community. Also pictured here is a gold ball that formed part of the exhibition design for ‘Fashioning Masculinities’ at the V&A. In response to a painting by Yinka Shonibare, titled Diary of a Victorian Dandy, JA Projects designed a flamboyant, theatrical display that echoed a billiards room See more at the link in bio and in the May issue of Wallpaper*, on newsstands now.⁠ 📸: @tamiaftab 🖊: Ellie Stathaki

A hint of things to come when @vam_east opens to the public next week. Our East London team and East London references as featured in this season’s @vamuseum magazine. Love to the best design team in the world (and Bethnal Green) @apracticeforeverydaylife and @larryachiampong

'Social justice, community and connection' ... as unpacked over five snapshot pages in the latest issue of @wallpapermag and via the elegant words on Ellie Stathaki and the super generous lens of @tamiaftab Being featured across these pages is an absolute dream and so much credit and love goes to the @ja__projects team who have committed to this mission alongside me.

Finally home after a heavy first part of the year travelling, and feeling good about what's been achieved across Paris, NYC, Bridgetown and London. Never been prouder to lead a global studio. And never felt so honoured to be in the orbit of so many incredible commissioners and collaborators. Forever grateful to @marianicanor @andres_jaque @danthawley @cheredag for their trust, and the opportunity to work and teach in magical places and amongst incredible communities. And huge love to the @ja__projects team for always being the most potent and elegant fuel in the engine. Additional pics by @larsbronseth and @ry.gafy 💕

The 2026 @matterandshape auditorium draws from the legacy of the Salle du Manège – the former riding school of the Tuileries that, between 1789 and 1798, became the meeting place of France’s post-revolutionary assemblies – an elongated building and terraced chamber that helped shape new modes of socially progressive public exchange. 
This lineage is carried forward through a terraced, 'in-the-round' arrangement that brings audience and speaker into close proximity, framing conversation as a shared act. Constructed in timber and hemp, and anchored by a central cut-out that establishes a direct connection to the ground below, the space channels both the social and material history of the site. — Ref: Louis-Joseph Masquelier, The Legislative Assembly sitting in the Salle du Manège, 10 August 1792. Drawing on paper. 38 × 29 cm. — Thanks to: @danthawley @matthieupinet and @wsn.paris for their trust and guidance /// @ceeesk @mickaelllorca @larsbronseth and the @ps.creativeagency for the memories. Core JA Projects design team: @Jaydenaali @abbbybird @zuzia.rostocka @lea_lahaj

To the designers, artists, perfumiers, makers and dreamers. To those that passed through the sparkly Moiré facade. To those that gathered, presented, conversed, broke-bread and rested.  To the visionary @danthawley – to @matthieupinet – to Fred, Elie, Michel and the @wsn.paris team – to @abbbybird @zuzia.rostocka @siobhenderson , @jadenembhard and the entire gang at JA projects – to @studiohugoblanzat @edouard.berard and @ikhorparis   – to @bray.cameron @khristianceballosugarte @room_architecture and the beautiful students at the @ecole_speciale – to @bassmets and @haauarchi – to @poppoppops – to @michipelizzari @jackie.kub @eugeniomassetti and all the @ps.creativeagency team – to @Pabloprado @febubufe @Freemans_land @nicmonisse – to @ceeesk , @mickaelllorca , @larsbronseth – to those that offered the gift of time, energy and care.  To Paris  To @matterandshape …Thank you for an incredible experience.  It was total magic. I love you.

Paris! Jayden Ali × MATTER and SHAPE For the 2026 edition of @matterandshape in the Jardin des Tuileries, architect @jaydenali of @ja__projects developed the spatial concept for the salon’s two pavilions, connecting the event to the layered history of the site. Their shimmering façade (developed w @studiohugoblanzat ) references silk moiré, a nod to France’s 16th- and 17th-century ambition to establish a domestic silk industry — an effort that led to the planting of more than 20,000 mulberry trees across Paris. Inside, Ali introduced communal and talk spaces built from green oil-stained pine, hemp bricks, and adaptable timber systems. After the fair, these components will continue their life through a workshop Ali is leading with students at the @ecole_speciale in Paris. #matterandshape #jaydenali #parisdesign #architecturalentertainment