Irreverent and iconoclastic, Nigel Coates has been stirring up the architectural scene for over 40 years. In this warm and compelling autobiography, he explores the highs and lows of life at the cutting edge of architecture and design. Coates’ work often treads playfully at the intersection between bodies, sexuality and design. His portfolio includes interiors for Liberty, Jigsaw and Caffè Bongo in Tokyo, the Body Zone in the Millennium Dome, and built work such as Noah's Ark and the Wall ...

The first book to look architectural narrative in the eyeSince the early eighties, many architects have used the term "narrative" to describe their work. To architects the enduring attraction of narrative is that it offers a way of engaging with the way a city feels and works. Rather than reducing architecture to mere style or an overt emphasis on technology, it foregrounds the experiential dimension of architecture. Narrative Architecture explores the potential for narrat...

We live in a world drowning in objects. But what do they tell us about ourselves?In The Language of Things, Deyan Sudjic charts our relationship - both innocent and knowing - with all things designed. From the opulent excesses of the catwalk, or the technical brilliance of a laptop computer, to the subtle refinement of a desk lamp, he shows how we can be manipulated and seduced by our possessions.Sudjic delivers an exhilarating insider’s history of design as he introduces ...

In an era of brash, expensive, provocative new buildings, a prominent critic argues that emotions—such as hope, power, sex, and our changing relationship to the idea of home—are the most powerful force behind architecture, yesterday and (especially) today.We are living in the most dramatic period in architectural history in more than half a century: a time when cityscapes are being redrawn on a yearly basis, architects are testing the very idea of what a building is, and whole citi...

This book is not a dictionary, though it tells you all you need know about everything from Authenticity to Zips. It's not an autobiography, though it does offer a revealing and highly personal inside view of contemporary culture.It's an essential tool kit for understanding the modern world. It's about what makes a Warhol a genuine fake; the creation of national identities; the mania to collect. It's also about the world seen from the rear view mirror of Grand Theft Auto V; digital ...

Lilliput Press is delighted to be reissuing Traces of Peter Rice for the first time in paperback. This book is a collaborative enterprise, British, French and Irish, representing the countries where Peter Rice passed most of his life and the cultures that formed him. These essays and cameos range widely across his career and legacy. Family, friends, scholars and colleagues write about his work, his solutions to intractable problems and his aesthetic sense, seeking to provide an understandi...

A smart and playful introduction to the often-mystifying world of contemporary artWhat is contemporary art? What makes it contemporary? What is it for? And why is it so expensive?From museums and the art market to biennales and the next big thing, Who’s Afraid of Contemporary Art? offers concise and pointed insights into today’s art scene, decoding “Artspeak," explaining what curators do, demystifying conceptual art, exploring emerging art markets,...

Full of inspiration and practical advice, Playwriting: A Writers' & Artists' Companion is a comprehensive companion to writing for the stage.PART 1 includes reflections on the art and the craft of playwriting, guidance on writing for a full range of genres and spaces and a brief history of playwriting itself.PART 2 contains inspiring advice and reflections from leading playwrights:April De Angelis, Bryony Lavery, David Greig, Christina Reid, Dennis Kelly, Frank McG...

Organised into 9 parts that highlight a wide range of architectural motives, such as 'Architecture as Theatre', 'Stretching the Vocabulary' and ‘The City of Large and Small’, the workbook provides inspiring key themes for readers to take their cue from when initiating a design. Motives cover a wide-range of work that epitomise the theme. These include historical and Modernist examples, things observed in the street, work by current innovative architects and from Cook’s own rich archive, we...

'London Deco: Introduction' is an essential introductory volume for the London Deco series of ebooks by Gregory Edwards, and published by Hidden City Publishing. In 'London Deco: Introduction' there are attempts to answer the questions: "Why is London not Regarded as an Art Deco City?" and, at least as far as London is concerned, "What Makes a Building Art Deco?". It also has a directory of British Art Deco Artists and Designers. This ebook introduces 'London Deco: Offices', 'London Deco: ...

Think Like an Artist by BBC Arts editor Will Gompertz - wisdom and smart thinking from Da Vinci to Ai WeiweiWhy do some people seem to find it easy to come up with brilliant, fresh ideas? And how do they turn them into something worthwhile?Will Gompertz, the BBC's Arts Editor and a former director at the Tate, has spent years getting up close and personal with some of the world's greatest creative thinkers. And he's discovered a ha...

As public interest in modern art continues to grow, as witnessed by the spectacular success of Tate Modern and the Bilbao Guggenheim, there is a real need for a book that will engage general readers, offering them not only information and ideas about modern art, but also explaining its contemporary relevance and history. This book achieves all this and focuses on interrogating the idea of 'modern' art by asking such questions as: What has made a work of art qualify as modern (or f...