Zeev Aram (5 October 1931 – 18 March 2021) was a British furniture and interior designer. He was the founder and chairman of Aram Designs Ltd, a modern furniture store in London's

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

serving both the retail and contract market. He is responsible for introducing to the London market designers such as

Marcel Breuer Marcel Lajos Breuer ( ; 21 May 1902 – 1 July 1981) was a Hungarian-American modernist architect and furniture designer. He moved to the United States in 1937 and became a naturalized American citizen in 1944. At the Bauhaus he designed the Was ...

, the Castiglioni brothers,

Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect, academic, and interior designer. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. He is regarded as one of the pionee ...

, and

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , ; ), was a Swiss-French architectural designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture ...

.Graham, Natalie (2 May 2014)
"Furniture designer Zeev Aram: from King’s Road to Covent Garden"
''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

''. Retrieved 9 July 2015.

Early life

Zeev Aram was born in Cluj, Romania, the son of Jewish hoteliers, Palma and Aaron Ungar. In 1940 with the outbreak of World War II, the family emigrated to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

, where Aram grew up.

Career

He initially had a career as an officer in the Israeli Navy but later decided to become an architect. However, the Haifa Polytechnic architecture course had a two-year waiting list, and in 1957 he went to London instead. After completing his course in furniture and interior design the Central School of Art and Design (now

Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design Central Saint Martins is a Colleges of the University of the Arts London, constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate a ...

), he joined the architectural office of

Ernő Goldfinger Ernő Goldfinger (11 September 1902 – 15 November 1987) was a Hungarian-born British architect and furniture designer. He moved to the United Kingdom in the 1930s, and became a key member of the modernist architecture, Modernist architectur ...

. He worked in Goldfinger's practice for a year and then went on to work for

Basil Spence Sir Basil Urwin Spence, (13 August 1907 – 19 November 1976) was a Scottish architect, most notably associated with Coventry Cathedral in England and the Beehive in New Zealand, but also responsible for numerous other buildings in the Moderni ...

and later for Andrew Renton.Rashty, Sandy (28 February 2014)
"An interiors business designed to last"
''

The Jewish Chronicle ''The Jewish Chronicle'' (''The JC'') is a London-based Jewish weekly newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world. Its editor () is Daniel Schwammenthal. The newspaper is published every Fri ...

''. Retrieved 9 July 2015. Aram established Aram Designs Ltd. at 57

King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents) is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both ...

, Chelsea in 1964 and was the first retailer to bring the work of modernist designers such as

Carlo Scarpa Carlo Scarpa (2 June 1906 – 28 November 1978) was an Italian architect and designer. He was influenced by the materials, landscape, and history of Venetian culture, as well as those of Japan. Scarpa translated his interests in history, regiona ...

and

to the UK market. In 1973 Aram Designs moved into a larger space at 3 Kean Street, Covent Garden. That same year, Irish architect and furniture designer

Eileen Gray Eileen Gray (born Kathleen Eileen Moray Smith; 9 August 187831 October 1976) was an Irish interior designer, furniture designer and architect who became a pioneer of the Modern architecture, Modern Movement in architecture. Over her career, s ...

granted Aram and Aram Designs Ltd the Worldwide licence to introduce, produce and distribute her designs. Aram worked closely with Gray and played a fundamental role in introducing her designs to the world market. In 2015, Aram acted as consultant and donated furniture to the newly refurbished

E-1027 E-1027 is a Modern architecture, modernist villa in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department of France. It was designed and built from 1926–1929 by the Irish architect and furniture designer Eileen Gray an ...

, a modernist villa in

Roquebrune-Cap-Martin Roquebrune-Cap-Martin (; or ; ; ), simply Roquebrune until 1921, is a Communes of France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region, Southeastern France, betw ...

that was designed and built between 1926 and 1929 by Gray. Aram was also the director of the Aram Gallery for Experimental and New Design, a non-commercial gallery curating shows focused on experimental design. Through his series of graduate shows he introduced many new designers, such as

Thomas Heatherwick Thomas Alexander Heatherwick, (born 17 February 1970) is an English designer and the founder of London-based design practice Heatherwick Studio. He works with a team of more than 200 architects, designers and entrepreneurs from his studio in ...

and

Jasper Morrison Jasper Morrison (born 1959) is an English product and furniture designer. He is known for the refinement and apparent simplicity of his designs. In a rare interview with the designer, he is quoted as saying: "Objects should never shout." ...

, who have gone on to become prolific figures in the design industry. Amongst Aram's own furniture designs are the Dino Storage System (1964), the Altra Table System (1967) and the Atlantic Desk (1971). In 2014 he was awarded an

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for services to design and architecture.Heathcote, Edwin (30 May 2014)
"Modernist furniture designer Zeev Aram and his Victorian home"
''

''. Retrieved 9 July 2015.

Personal life

In 1958, he married Elizabeth Bunzl, the English daughter of Viennese parents. They lived in an Edwardian Dutch house in Wimbledon, and had four children. He died on 18 March 2021 at the age of 89 and was buried on the eastern side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...

References

External links

Aram Designs LtdAram Gallery for Experimental and New Design
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aram, Zeev 1931 births 2021 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery Architects from London Romanian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Romanian Jews Israeli emigrants to the United Kingdom Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent British furniture designers British interior designers British people of Romanian-Jewish descent Officers of the Order of the British Empire Compasso d'Oro Award recipients