Architect, designer and author, born 1949. Studied at Nottingham University and then the Architectural Association. A radical architect, he conceives of the city as a living being. In 1984 he published the manifesto-magazine «NATO» [Narrative Architecture Today]. Art and literature play an important role in many of his designs. Coates has designed and realised interiors, performances and buildings all over the world. These include: Caffè Bongo, The Wall, Noah's Ark and Art Silo in Japan; the National Centre for Popular Music [now The Hub], Powerhouse::uk and the Geffrye Museum in the UK. In his eclectic career he has also made experimental designs for art and design events, including Ecstacity, 1992, Architectural Association; Mixtacity, 2007, Tate Modern; Hypnerotosphere, 2008, XI Biennale di Architettura, Venice, 2008. He has also designed products for Alessi, AV Mazzega, Ceramica Bardelli, Frag, Fratelli Boffi, Poltronova, Slamp and Varaschin. His work is in the permanent collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Cooper Hewitt and FRAC. He is Emeritus Professor of the Royal College of Art, where he headed the Department of Architecture from 1995 to 2011.