The Lighthouse, Scotland's National Architecture and Design Centre, announced today, 26 October 2006, that Nick Barley will be its new Executive Director. Barley (40) brings to The Lighthouse over 15 years of experience as an architecture and design consultant, curator, publisher and business manager.

Announcing the news, Professor Janice Kirkpatrick, Chairman of The Lighthouse Trust, on behalf of the Board, said: "Following a rigorous interview process the decision to appoint Nick Barley was unanimous. We were impressed by his vision, experience, passion and networks which were strongly underpinned by his business experience and knowledge of architecture and design."

Nick Barley said: "Over the last seven years The Lighthouse has become established as a major voice in architecture and design both at home and abroad. I am looking forward to building on the success to date and taking the organisation forward into the next stage of its development."

He added: "At a time when Scotland is recognising the huge importance of creativity for its economic future, The Lighthouse is in a unique position to champion the work of designers and architects. I intend to build on the fantastic work done by Stuart McDonald in setting up The Lighthouse, and to campaign vigorously to bring designers and architects together with the public, and with Scotland's business community"

Deyan Sudjic, Director of London's Design Museum said: "Its great to see the Lighthouse going from strength to strength with a new director who will build on its many successes. It's one of the permanent legacies of the year of architecture and design that Glasgow staged in 1999, and I can't think of anybody with more energy and determination to lead the Lighthouse and maintain its reputation as a centre for creative new thinking about design and the environment"

Nick Barley began his career with architectural publishers Wordsearch as deputy publisher and, from 1994, publisher of a stable of publications including Blueprint, Eye, Design Review, Tate Magazine, Perspectives, and Reportage. Whilst publisher of Blueprint he commissioned the first ever British building from Zaha Hadid - the Blueprint Pavilion for the "Interbuild" Trade exhibition, which was awarded the 'Best Building of 1995' Award by the Independent on Sunday.

In 1998 he set up August Publications, and through this company has since published and edited a series of ground breaking books on architecture including the original book on The Lighthouse (published as part of Glasgow 1999); a book on Benson + Forsyth's Museum of Scotland; Rick Poynor's Obey the Giant, a series of books on urbanism including Breathing Cities: Impossible Worlds; City Levels and Experiments in Architecture and, most recently, the catalogue for the 2006 London Architecture Biennale.

As a curator and exhibition manager Nick Barley has project managed and designed a number of keynote exhibitions including Citroen DS: La Deesse (Design Museum 1991); Lost and Found (international touring exhibition on Design 2000) and Hometime, a British Council (Design department) exhibition that toured to China in 2003.

Barley has twice been on the Advisory Group for the UK wide Architecture Week events; he chaired the conference in Dundee, which coincided with the opening of Gehry's Maggie's Centre, at which Frank Gehry was the keynote speaker, and last year chaired the BRE conference at the Design Show in Glasgow.

Nick Barley is currently editor of The List, Scotland's bi-weekly "what's on" magazine, for which work he was named Editor of the Year in the PPA Scotland Magazine Awards in 2005.