Adam Nathaniel Furman (born November 1982) is a British artist, designer, writer, and academic. Furman specialises in work that is characterised by bright colours, bold patterns and ornaments. They[1] coined the term New London Fabulous.
In 2001, Furman enrolled in a foundation course at Central Saint Martins.[6] They went on to study at the Architectural Association (AA), graduating in 2008. This was followed by further graduate studies at the AA.[7]
Furman became co-director of the AA's research group Saturated Space and opened Madam Studio. In 2013, they were invited to join the Design Museum's Designers in Residence programme.[8] In 2014 and 2015, Furman had a residency at the British Academy in Rome, where they were awarded the Rome Prize in Architecture.[9] Furman's winning project The Roman Singularity was later displayed at the Soane Museum in 2017.[10] They also returned to Central Saint Martins to teach and run the Productive Experience studio.
Named as one of the Architecture Foundations 'New Architects' in 2016,[11] Furman was also named a rising star of 2017 by The Observer[citation needed] as well as a new talent by Metropolis, who described them as "a master of surface and ornamentation" who relies on their "own imagination rather than trends for inspiration".[12] That year, Furman co-authored Revisiting Postmodernism with Terry Farrell, and was commissioned to design a futuristic town hall concept called Democratic Monument for Architecture Fringe.
Furman was named a 2019 FX Product Designer of the Year. In 2021, Furman had a sixth-month residency at King's Cross, where they installed the Proud Little Pyramid for Pride Month.
Furman co-edited the 2022 anthology Queer Spaces with Joshua Mardell,[13] which includes pieces from contributors on domestic, communal, and public spaces where LGBT+ individuals have found safety and solidarity over the decades.[14] As of 2023, Furman is in the process of creating a 57-meter-long mosaic mural titled A Thousand Streams on a wall outside London Bridge station with the London School of Mosaic,[15] as well as ceramic tile colonnades for the new Enclave tower in Croydon.[16]
In an interview about Democratic Monument, Furman stated "In great contrast to the rest of our cultural output, our physical environment is crushingly uniform."[18]
In 2020, Furman coined the term New London Fabulous (NLF) to refer to a group of London-based artists and designers who reject "monochromatic minimalism"[19] in favour of "kaleidoscopic" colours, ornament, and geometry.[20] NLF also places emphasis on creating public spaces that represent and celebrate the city's local communities and cultures. Notable NLF figures include Yinka Ilori, Camille Walala, and Morag Myerscough.[21]