Ron Arad

United Kingdom

Person

Designer

Born 24 April 1951 Tel Aviv, Israel Ron Arad is a designer and architect. After studying art at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem (1971–1973), he attended the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London from 1973 to 1979. In 1981 he co-founded the design and production studio One Off with Caroline Thorman, where he created, among other works, the Rover Chair. He gained international recognition with experimental steel furniture, including the Well Tempered Chair for the Vitra Edition (1986) and the Big Easy Chair (1988). In 1989 he founded Ron Arad Associates in London, a studio for design and architecture, and designed the Schizzo Chair for Vitra. His best-known works also include the Bookworm bookcase for Kartell (1994), the foyer of the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center, and the Tom Vac stacking chair for Vitra (1997). From 1994 to 1997 he was Professor of Product Design in Vienna, and from 1997 to 2009 Professor of Furniture Design and later Industrial Design at the Royal College of Art in London. Between 1994 and 1999 he also operated the Ron Arad Studio in Como, Italy. His major architectural projects include the Design Museum Holon in Israel (2003–2010). His work has been exhibited internationally, notably in the exhibition “No discipline” at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and The Museum of Modern Art in New York (2008/2009). He received the London Design Medal in 2011, became a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 2012, and was awarded the Compasso d’Oro for his life’s work in 2016.