Nigel Coates

“Because architecture is sensuous, the more of it there is in products - says Coates - the better.” Typically his objects have body-like curves, and playful character. His architecture has characteristic fluidity too, and seems inclined to muscle-in on the city. Architect, designer and commentator Coates is one of those rare talents whose vision relies on the overlap between professional fields. He considers the complexity and confusion of cities as fundamental to their attraction, an attitude which translates into his iconoclastic buildings in Japan and the UK, such as the Wall in Tokyo, the Pop Museum in Sheffield, and the Body Zone in the Millennium Dome. In 1998 he designed his proto-living unit, the Oyster House, which included a raft of objects including the OXO sofa system and the first of his vase designs in glass. His book ‘Guide to Ecstacity’, 2003 is published by Laurence King.