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THE PROOF听is a听weekly roundup showcasing local creatives.听听A column for creatives to share their story and work, in a unique, concise format: each creative shows 8 pictures and answers 8 questions. Past participants include听,听,听,听,听,听,听听- all living in Vancouver. |
Omer Arbel finds form in the intrinsic qualities of materials and the processes he has at his disposal to manipulate them. His practice has evolved to intimately combine the fields of industrial design, architecture, manufacturing and materials research. The approach of the practice demands a high level of collaboration between craftspeople and designers, and as such has shied away from conventional manufacturer-designer or contractor-architect relationships. Instead, the practice does as much as possible in house: manufacturing as much as possible of its own designs, and building as much as possible of its constructed environments.
Accolades include several Red Dot and iF Awards, a Yellow Pencil Yearbook Entry, the Ron Thom Early Design Achievement Award, a World Architecture Festival Shortlist and, with Corrine Hunt, the commission to design the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Medals. Arbel leads (Omer Arbel Office), a multidisciplinary design practice and he acts as Creative Director for the Design and Manufacturing company . Both companies have achieved near instant critical and commercial success, and position Arbel as a young voice within the international design community.
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THE PROOF
1. Bowie on the sofa.
2.听A path through the trees in the front yard.
3.听The entrance to our building.
4.听Selecting colours for the chandelier we are working on for the entrance of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
5.听Casting 19's at hasting's brass foundry in East Vancouver.
6.听The courtyard at our office.
7.听The stair we built on the outside of our building.
8.听The stair and library at home.
THE QUESTIONS
1. What neighborhood do you live in?
Hastings Sunrise.
I听hate that there are banners on听street lamps听attempting to rebrand it 'the east village'. 听why would anyone want to bulldoze over the name 'hastings sunrise'鈥� a name for our neighbourhood听that is听not only poetic, but also derived from this place and its history?? And for what?听To replace it with a name of a neighbourhood in new york !?听Ridiculous.
2. What do you do and where?
I design objects and buildings at our studio on 1st and Pine in Vancouver.
3. What are you working on?
A 30 meter tall chandelier for the entrance of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London; a flat-pack aluminum chair; a house renovation in Connecticut; A vacation home in Washington State; A high end toothbrush; some open ended experiments with gasses and others with cast iron.
4. Where can we find your work?
The products can be found in lots of places; in Vancouver, Inform Interiors or Livingspace.
The buildings are harder to see because they are mostly private residential spaces.
5. Who are your role models?
They change over the years鈥� these days, David Bowie and Carlo Scarpa.
6. What keeps you going in this industry?
I never need anything to "keep me going". I am doing what I am supposed to be doing, so there are never any doubts or any shortage of energy.
7. If you had a chance to start your career all over again, how would you do it differently?
I wouldn't make any changes.
8. What advice do you wish someone would have given you when you were young?
Don鈥檛 worry so much, everything will be all right.
If you were going to recommend a creative to VIA, who would it be? (optional)
Lee Henderson.
