Dora Gad facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dora Gad
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| Born | 1912 Câmpulung, Romania
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| Died | 31 December 2003 |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Occupation | Interior designer |
| Known for | Israel Prize |
Dora Gad (born 1912, died December 31, 2003) was a famous interior designer from Israel. Her work greatly influenced how modern buildings in Israel looked. She helped shape the style of many important places.
Contents
Dora Gad's Life Story
Dora Siegel was born in a town called Câmpulung, Romania. She grew up with her grandfather. She went to both a Hebrew school and a regular government school.
From 1930 to 1934, Dora studied at a big university in Vienna, Austria. She earned a degree in engineering and architecture. There, she met Heinrich Yehezkel Goldberg, who was also studying architecture. They got married in 1936.
After marrying, Dora and Heinrich moved to Mandatory Palestine, which is now Israel. They settled in Tel Aviv. Later, in 1959, Dora married Ephraim Ben-Artzi, who was a former general.
Designing Spaces: Dora Gad's Career
Dora Gad started her design career working for an architect named Oskar Kaufmann. In 1938, she began working on her own. By 1942, she started designing private homes with her husband, Heinrich.
Her design style was very fresh and modern. She loved to use lots of natural light. She also used materials found locally in Israel. This included special fabrics, wool carpets, and items made from straw and felt. Her unique style was different from many European designers at the time.
By the 1950s, Dora and her husband were very well-known interior designers in Israel. They helped plan many government buildings and important places.
Working with Arieh Noy
After her husband, Yehezkel Gad, passed away in 1958, Dora started a new partnership. She teamed up with Arieh Noy, who worked in her office. Their new company, Gad-Noy, continued to work on big government projects.
In 1965, they designed the inside of the Israel Museum. They worked with architect Al Mansfeld on this project. A year later, in 1966, they designed the interior of the Knesset building. The Knesset is Israel's parliament, similar to a country's main government building.
The Gad-Noy firm worked together until 1976. After that, Dora Gad continued to work on her own. She designed spaces for both public and private clients until she passed away in 2003.
Important Projects by Dora Gad
Dora Gad worked on many famous buildings and spaces. Here are some of her most notable projects:
- The home of the Prime Minister in Jerusalem (1950).
- The home of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem (1950).
- Luxury hotels like the Sharon and Accadia in Herzliyyah (1955).
- The Israeli National Library in Jerusalem (1956).
- Israeli Embassies in Washington D.C. and Ankara.
- Offices for EL AL, Israel's national airline, in New York (1956) and London (1959).
- The interiors of ships for Zim, Israel's national shipping line (1955–1975).
- The interior design of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament building, in Jerusalem (1958-1966). She was part of a big team of architects for this project.
- The Tel Aviv Hilton Hotels (1965) and the Jerusalem Hilton (1974).
- The El Al terminal at Kennedy Airport in New York (1970 and 1974).
- Parts of the Ben Gurion International Airport (1973).
- The Bank of Israel building in Jerusalem (1980).
- The Presidential residence in Jerusalem (1984–1985).
Awards and Special Recognition
Dora Gad received important awards for her amazing work:
- In 1966, she won the Israel Prize for architecture. This is one of the highest honors in Israel.
- Also in 1966, she received the Regulo D’Oro design prize from Domus magazine. She won this for her special design of concrete units.
