2008 Recipient

Omer Arbel

Omer Arbel is a Vancouver-based and internationally-recognized designer whose work in furniture and lighting design is strongly influenced by his background as an architect. His pieces are characterized not only by their intrinsic qualities but also by the way they affect the spaces around them. A graduate of the University of Waterloo School of Architecture, Arbel's work has won a D & AD Yellow Pencil Award and has been shortlisted for the IF Product Design Award in Hannover, Germany, and for the Blueprint Best Newcomer award in London, England.

chair

A graduate of the University of Waterloo's School of Architecture, Omer Arbel's work in furniture and lighting design is based on the premise of eliminating the boundaries between the fields of architecture, industrial design, material research, manufacturing and invention. He is inspired by the intrinsic qualities of materials and fabrication methods, and how they affect the spaces around them. In 2006, he established Omer Arbel Office, one of North America's most experimental and innovative young design practices. His work has been recognized with the prestigious Red Dot Award and has been shortlisted for the Blueprint Best Newcomer Award and the D & AD Yellow Pencil Award.