Omer Arbel
Omer Arbel (born 1976) is a Canadian architect and industrial designer. Arbel's Vancouver-based practice, Omer Arbel Office, aims to collapse traditional boundaries between the professions of architecture and industrial design by focusing, in an abstract manner, on material properties and fabrication methodology. The practice produces designs for buildings, objects, furniture, lighting and electrical accessories. Arbel is also the creative director of manufacturing and design company Bocci.
Omer Arbel was born in Jerusalem, moving to Vancouver as a child. Between the ages of 17 and 21, Arbel was active in an athletic career in the sport of fencing. He represented Canada as part of four cadet and junior National teams, retiring in 1997. He studied architecture at the University of Waterloo, and gained work experience with the Catalan architect Enric Miralles in Barcelona and Canadian architects John and Patricia Patkau in Vancouver. After a graduate degree, he worked for two architecture firms, before setting up on his own in 2003.
Omer Arbel Office began by designing and making limited edition furniture, most notably the 2.4 Chair, which was critically acclaimed, and is currently considered a collector's item. These early pieces were accessioned into various institutional and private collections, and exhibited in galleries including the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Chicago Athenaeum Museum. Since then, several of Arbel's design pieces have gone into widespread production, most notably the 14 series chandelier, and 22 series plug socket, which also won a 2009 red dot design award. There are two built architectural works by Arbel, a penthouse interior, and a private residence. Arbel was awarded the commission to design the 2010 Winter Olympic medals, in collaboration with Aboriginal Artist Corrine Hunt. Arbel is active as a guest critic, speaker and master’s thesis committee member at the University of British Columbia School of Architecture.







































