Dora Gad

Dora Gad (Hebrew דורה גד; b. 1912, d. 31 December 2003)^[1] was an Israeli interior designer, whose work had significant influence on the development of modern Israeli architecture.

Early life

Dora Gad (née Siegel) was born in 1912 in Campulung, Romania. She grew up in the home of her grandfather, and attended Hebrew school and a government-run school. Between 1930 and 1934, she studied at the Technische Hochschule in Vienna, and received her diploma in engineering and architecture. There, she met her future husband, Heinrich Yehezkel Goldberg, an architecture student. They married in 1936, immigrated to Mandatory Palestine and settled in Tel Aviv.

Career

Gad found her first position with architect Oskar Kauffman. In 1938 she began to work independently, and her early projects led her towards interior design. In 1942 she began to design private apartments together with her husband. Her style was light and modern, drawing from local inspiration; abundant light, and local building materials. Gad incorporated locally available fabrics, wool carpets, woven work, straw and felt in her designs. Her style set her apart from many European educated architects of the day, who maintained more European styles of architecture.^[2]

By the 1950s, the couple were already prominent interior designers in Israel. During these years they changed their name to the Hebrew name, Gad. They were involved in the planning of many government buildings and institutions. Gad also co-operated with Ruth Dayan and fashion designer Pini Leitersdorf at Maskit and used many of their “folklore” products in her design projects.

After the death of Yehezkel Gad in 1958, Gad established a partnership with Arieh Noy, an employee in her office. In 1959 she married Efraim Ben Arzi, a former general and prominent public figure. The Gad-Noy firm continued to work on governmental projects, and they were responsible, in 1965, for the design of the Israel Museum, together with architect Al Mansfeld, and in 1966, for the interior design of the Knesset building.^[3]

The Gad-Noy firm operated until 1976. Gad continued to work independently in both the public and private sectors until her death, in 2003.

Projects

• The residence of the Prime Minister (Jerusalem, 1950)
• The residence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Jerusalem, 1950)
• The Sharon^[4] and Accadia luxury hotels (Herzliyyah, 1955)
• The Israeli National Library (Jerusalem, 1956)
• Israeli Embassies in Washington D.C. and Ankara
• The New York offices of EL AL, the national airline (New York, 1956 and London, 1959)
• The vessels of Zim, the national shipping line (together with the Mansfeld-Weinraub firm, 1955–1975)
• The Tel Aviv Hilton Hotels (1965)^[5][6] and the Jerusalem Hilton (1974)
• The EL AL terminal at Kennedy airport in New York (1970 and 1974)
• The Ben Gurion International Airport (1973)
• The Bank of Israel (Jerusalem, 1980)
• The Presidential residence in Rehavia, Jerusalem, 1984–1985)

Prizes and awards

• In 1966, Gad won the Israel Prize, in architecture.^[7][8]
• Also in 1966, she also received the Regulo D’Oro design prize, awarded annually by the Italian magazine Domus, for her plan of modular concrete units.^[9]

References

1. ^ Dora Gad (in Hebrew) The Israel Museum, Information Center for Israeli Art
2. ^ Sheḥori, Ran (1997). Dora Gad: the Israeli presence in interior design. ISBN 9652227544. 
3. ^ The official Knesset website
4. ^ http://www.mouse.co.il/CM.articles_item,1018,209,29459,.aspx (Hebrew)
5. ^ http://www.nrg.co.il/online/55/ART1/730/333.html#after_maavaron (Hebrew)
6. ^ Wharton, Annabel Jane (2001). Building the Cold War: Hilton International hotels and modern architecture. University of Chicago. p. 116. ISBN 0226894193.  Link
7. ^ "Israel Prize Official Site - Recipients in 1966 (in Hebrew)". http://cms.education.gov.il/EducationCMS/Units/PrasIsrael/Tashkag/Tashlab_Tashkag_Rikuz.htm?DictionaryKey=Tashkav. 
8. ^ Slyomovics, Susan (1998). The object of memory: Arab and Jew narrate the Palestinian village. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 38. ISBN 9780812215250.  Link
9. ^ Davidi, Sigal. "Dora Gad". http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/gad-dorah. Jewish Women's Archive. http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/gad-dorah. 

See also

• List of Israel Prize recipients

Persondata
Name	Gad, Dora
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1912
Place of birth
Date of death	2003
Place of death