Designer

Ron Arad (1951 -) works across the fields of architecture, product and furniture design combining innovative design with the exploitation of new materials and technologies to remarkable effect. His reputation for the continued questioning of well established practices enforced his formidable standing across all three disciplines. Born in Tel Aviv, Arad studied initially at the Bezalel Academy of Art & Design in Jerusalem and then later at the Architectural Association in London, graduating in 1989. Along side business partner Caroline Thorman the two opened OneOffLtd in London in the early 1980’s, later founding Ron Arad Associates Ltd with Alison Brooks. Arad’s designs have always been highly sculptural in form, initially using steel, concrete, scaffolding poles and focusing largely on the ability to weld and polish metal. In 1989 Arad was invited to collaborate with Vitra. The outcome was the beginning of a series of volumetric chairs using a tempered steel construction. His designs continued to focus on his expertise in metal work producing one-of and limited edition pieces however a move towards volume production became inevitable and the realities of designing for mass manufacture became a source of fascination for Arad. Collaborations with volume manufacturers have continued throughout Arad’s career with both Kartell & Vitra being amongst the list of many. Today Ron Arad Associates Ltd works primarily on architectural projects. Since 1997, Ron Arad has led the Design Products masters’ degree course at the Royal College of Art in London. He continues to create curvaceous, highly skilled metal work pieces which appear in public and private collections across the world.

Style

Sculptual form, curvaceous and deceptively simplistic. This elegant and comfortable plastic seat shell is suitable for indoor & outdoor use, stackable.

Product

Designed in 1999 for Vitra, the Tom Vac chair is named after a friend of Arad, the US photographer Tom Vack. Starting with prototypes in metal before moving on to the corrugated plastic shell of the version we now see, the main element of the chair is made out of a continuous ribbon of material that forms the seat in it’s entirety, manufactured by Vitra in polypropylene. The finished concept is a vacuum-formed aluminium stacking chair. With the wave textured seat shell dyed right through, additives to the plastic slow the fading process (bleaching from sunlight) and the powder coated base makes garden use an option.

Other works

Wide selection of sculptural tableware, furniture and architectural spaces & buildings.