Ron Arad

Background

Ron Arad was born in Tel Aviv in 1951 and educated at the Jerusalem Academy of Art and the Architectural Association in London. In 1981 he co-founded the design and production studio One Off with Caroline Thorman, and in 1989 the architecture and design practice Ron Arad Associates. Ron Arad Architects was established alongside it in 2008.

Signature Style

His constant experimentation with materials such as steel, aluminium and polyamide and a radical re-conception of the form and structure of furniture put him at the forefront of contemporary design and architecture. Moroso describes him as an architect and designer who has worked for more than 25 years on the line between industrial design and contemporary art.

Notable Works

• Do-Lo-Rez modular seating for Moroso (2008)
• Hotel Puerta America, Madrid (2005) and the Design Museum, Holon (2010)
• National Holocaust Memorial, London, with Adjaye Associates and Gustafson Porter + Bowman (2017)
• Public art including Vortext in Seoul and the Kesher Sculpture at Tel Aviv University

Legacy

He was Professor of Design Product at the Royal College of Art until 2009, received the 2011 London Design Week Medal and became a Royal Academician in 2013. His exhibitions include No Discipline at the Pompidou Centre (2008-2009) and at MoMA (2009), and Restless at the Barbican Art Gallery (2010).