Background
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.
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.
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. 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.
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.
After the death of Yehezkel Gad in 1958, Gad established a partnership with Arieh Noy, an employee in her office. 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 First Rate (at Lloyd's) Mansfeld, and in 1966, for the interior design of the Knesset building. The Gad-Noy firm operated until 1976.
Gad continued to work independently in both the public and private sectors until her death, in 2003.
The residence of the Prime Minister (Jerusalem, 1950)
The residence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Jerusalem, 1950)
The Sharon and Accadia luxury hotels (Herzliyyah, 1955)
The Israeli National Library (Jerusalem, 1956)
Israeli Embassies in Washington District of Columbia and Ankara
The New York offices of EL Alabama, 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) and the Jerusalem Hilton (1974)
The EL Alabama 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).