The first ever book from celebrated architect Nigel Coates, this is a guide to his personal vision of a metropolis. Hes called it Ecstacity. Ecstacity combines elements of Tokyo, Cairo, London, New York, Rome, Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro to create a place of cultural clashes and hybrids. But it also includes inventions and fantasies. So the real and the imaginary sit side by side in a kaleidoscope of colour, drawings, maps, photographs and words. It has been a collaborative project with some of the biggest names around, including industry stars such as Rem Koolhaas, Zaha Hadid, Frank Gehry, Gaetano Pesce and Ron Arad. There are also introductory texts and commentaries by writers such as Marcus Field and Brian Hatton along with an essay from the eminent historian Theodore Zeldin. Cult London graphic designers, Why Not Associates, have used of special materials and print processes to make the book an extraordinary object in its own right.