Nigel COATES

Nigel Coates was born in 1949. He has consistently challenged the meaning of architecture and the object. His mission is to bring equal amounts of art and intelligence to architecture and design; whatever the space or the object, Coates will fill it with passion, irony and instinct. After training at the Architectural Association, soon Coates became an original design force, his inventive narratives have translated into many buildings, interiors and exhibitions around the world, mainly in the UK and in Japan. More experimental work has been shown in an art and design context, including such exhibits as ArkAlbion shown at the Architectural Association in 1984, Ecstacity at the same venue in 1992, Mixtacity at Tate Modern in 2007 and Hypnerotosphere at the 11th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2008. He is much in demand as a designer of lighting and furniture, collaborating with many Italian companies. Examples of his work are held in several museum collections including the Victoria & Albert Museum, Cooper Hewitt and FRAC. His book Guide to Ecstacity was published by Laurence King in 2003 and his latest, Narrative Architecture, was published by Wiley in 2012. Shows in 2012 include Casa Reale at the Salone del Mobile and the London Design Festival and Picaresque at Kama: Sex and Design at the Triennale Design Museum in Milan. Since 2007, he has been the art director at Slamp. Nigel Coates created the Punctum floor lamp and Ginetta pendant light, two examples of his original design.