Family hail Habitat founder
Designer, retailer and restaurateur Sir Terence Conran has died, aged 88.
Born in Kingston upon Thames in 1931, Conran began his career making and selling furniture in London.
The dad of five went on to open restaurants across the capital before launching Habitat in 1964.
In a statement released yesterday, his family said he “passed away peacefully at his Barton Court home”.
They descr ibed The Design Museum founder as a “visionary who enjoyed an extraordinary l i fe and career”. The statement went on: “From the late 40s to the present day, his energy and creativity thrived in his shops, restaurants, bars, cafes and hotels and through his many design, architecture and furnituremaking businesses.
“Founding The Design Museum in London was one of his proudest moments and, through its endeavours, he remained a relentless champion of the importance of education to young people in the creative industries.”
The statement added: “Terence always maintained that his work never felt like a job – everything he did for business, he would have done for pleasure.”
The chairman of the board of trustees at The Design Museum, Peter Mandelson, said Conran “leaves a treasure trove of household and industrial design that will stay with us forever”.
He added: “He is one of the most iconic figures of post-war Britain, starting to recast the world of design when, as a young man, he joined the team working on the 1951 Festival of Britain and never stopping from that moment on.”