wells coates

After working as a journalist he focused his attention on designing and became a key member of the influential group of architects and designers who effectively founded the Modern Movement in British design. This included the Modern Architecture Research Group (MARS) and Unit One.

Because of his background in engineering he was open to the possibilities of new materials. In 1931, together with Jack Pritchard of the Venesta Plywood Company, he formed a new company, Isokon, with the aim of designing functional modern buildings and furniture. The furniture, designed by Coates and by other highly distinguished modernist designers, was largely in plywood, favoured because of its sculptural qualities. 

The most well known of Isokon's (i.e. Wells') architectural work was the Lawn Road Flats in Hampstead, London, completed in 1934, which became home to some of the leading designers in the modern movement including Walter Gropius. The flats were innovative because they were fully fitted - not simply empty rooms - and used 'new' materials such as concrete, steel and plywood.

Coates also designed a studio for the BBC. His design, originally in 1932, of a circular cabinet radio in Bakelite - the new plastic material - for the Ekco Company was followed by several other successful designs for them including other radio cabinets, fires, alarm clocks and a television. He went on to work in the aircraft industry, designing cabin interiors for passenger airliners.

Of course, as far as knowledgeable vintage radio enthusiasts are concerned, he will be best remembered for his AD65 radio. Its chrome grille, circular form and large dial broke all the conventions of the time, its strong visual appeal setting a precedent for the future. These radios command a high price today, being highly collectable - and highly prized.

The picture on the right shows a Coates designed Bakelite cabinet being removed from one of the hydraulic presses at the Ekco works. Wells Coates continued on occasion to design for the Ekco company during the post-war period and into the 1950s.

He designed the 'Telekinema' for the 1951 Festival of Britain. This was a 400 seat cinema able to screen both film (including three-dimensional film) and large-screen television. It proved to be one of the most popular attraction of the exhibition. The British Film Institute operated it and it reopened as the National Film Theatre after the exhibition closed.

He began a slow return to his native Canada in the early 1950s, finally settling for good in Vancouver in 1957. He died following a heart attack on June 17th 1958. He was 63 years old.

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