Ron Arad

Ron Arad was born in Tel Aviv in 1951 and studied at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem and then at the Architectural Association in London. In 1981 he founded the design studio One Off in London with Caroline Thorman, and in 1989, again with her, the architecture and design practice Ron Arad Associates.

His first successes came with a series of furniture pieces and interior structures in steel. Among his best-known pieces of those years are the Rover Chair, the Transformer and the remote-controlled Aerial Light.

In 1994 he founded the Ron Arad Studio in Como, which handles every stage of the creative process, from the initial idea to production.

From 1994 to 1997 he was guest professor at the Hochschule für angewandte Kunst in Vienna; from 1997 to 2009 he headed the Design Products department at the Royal College of Art in London. He also edited the 1994 International Design Yearbook.

His work has been published in many architecture and design books and magazines around the world.

His pieces have been shown in major museums and galleries and many belong to prestigious collections, such as those of the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Vitra Design Museum in Germany.

He has worked for many leading names: for Moroso he designed the Spring collection, Misfits and Sof Sof, for Kartell the Bookworm bookshelf and the FPE chair, for Vitra several chairs, as well as projects for Fiam, Driade, Alessi, Artemide, iGuzzini and others.

His architecture projects include the foyer of the Tel Aviv Opera House, the Belgo restaurants in London, a Sport Café concept with interactive audio and video technology for Adidas and Kronenbourg, a high-tech private house in London and many exhibition and gallery designs.

In April 1997 he built a totem in central Milan commissioned by Domus magazine: a stack of 70 chairs, each made from a single sheet of aluminium, topped by a chair with a digital screen announcing the events of the Salone del Mobile.

Three Skin Chair - for Moroso

Lovely Rita - shelf - for Kartell

Well Tempered Chair (1986) - armchair - for Vitra

Oh-Void 2 - seat

PizzaKobra - lamp - for iGuzzini