- Thursday 9th February 2017, 6.30pm
- Tessa Blackstone Lecture Theatre [11_0003]
Forget the boulevard and the block: inherent confusion is what makes cities so vital. Against a background of mutating functions and accidental superimpositions, Coates has consistently drawn inspiration from the entire breadth of the urban environment. In our role as architects and designers, how can we channel this turbulent mix? In his own form of architectural storytelling citing installations exhibited in various galleries over three decades, Coates will explore his recurring theme of the fictional urban model. From Ecstacity to Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, these mix photography, found objects, 3D printed buildings plus occasional film and furniture of his own design.
Ever since the heady days of the NATØ architecture group he founded in the early 80s, Nigel Coates has consistently challenged the practice of architecture – overlapping it with fashion, design and the history of ideas. Whatever the focus, Coates will fill it with passion, irony and instinct. After training at the AA, Coates associated himself with the turbulence of urban life. His inventive, artfully-driven narratives have translated into many buildings, interiors and exhibitions around the world, particularly in Japan and the UK. More experimental exhibition work includes Mixtacity at Tate Modern (2007) and Hypnerotosphere at the 2008 Venice Architecture Biennale. As a designer of lighting and furniture he collaborates with many Italian companies including Alessi, GTV and Fornasetti. His semi-autobiographical ‘Guide to Ecstacity’ was published by Laurence King in 2003 and ‘Narrative Architecture’ by Wiley in 2012. He is also a leading light at the new London School of Architecture.
Image: Nigel Coates, Falklands Museum, London (1982)