Fritz "Fred" Karl Heinz Lowen (1919–2005) is a designer

Designer

A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...

, member of the Order of Australia

Order of Australia

The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...

, and an inductee in the Design Institute of Australia Hall of Fame.

Biography

Lowen was born 1919 in Upper Silesia

Upper Silesia

Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...

, formerly a part of Germany. His father was Karl Loewenstein, later deported to Minsk Ghetto

Minsk Ghetto

The Minsk Ghetto was created soon after the German invasion of the Soviet Union. It was one of the largest in Eastern Europe, and the largest in the German-occupied territory of the Soviet Union...

 and Theresienstadt concentration camp

Theresienstadt concentration camp

Theresienstadt concentration camp was a Nazi German ghetto during World War II. It was established by the Gestapo in the fortress and garrison city of Terezín , located in what is now the Czech Republic.-History:The fortress of Terezín was constructed between the years 1780 and 1790 by the orders...

. He was transported to Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 on the HMT Dunera

HMT Dunera

His Majesty's Transport Dunera was a British passenger ship built as a troop transport in the late 1930s. She also operated as a passenger liner and as an educational cruise ship. Dunera saw extensive service throughout the Second World War....

 arriving in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 on the 6 September 1940.

Starting in September 1945, Lowen designed and made wooden salad bowls, trays and lazy susan

Lazy Susan

A Lazy Susan is a rotating tray, usually circular, placed on top of a table to aid in moving food on a large table or countertop.- Origin :The term "Lazy Susan" made its first written appearance in a Good Housekeeping article in 1906, although their existence dates back to the 18th century...

s with Ernest Rodeck under the name of FLER. He manufactured a Fred Ward-designed chair for the Myer

Myer

Myer is Australia's largest department store chain, retailing a broad range of merchandise including women's, men's and children's clothing, footwear and accessories; cosmetics and fragrance; homewares; electrical; furniture and bedding; toys; books and stationery; food and confectionery; and...

 department store in Melbourne, Victoria. Between 1955-58 Lowen designed the SC55 and SC58, the Aluminium Shell Chair, mahogany fold-out extension table and cane back chairs. The Narvik dining and lounge ranges were released in 1961, the Fleronde (1964/65), dining setting (1966/67), desk and chair for the Australian Exhibition at Expo 67

Expo 67

The 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67, as it was commonly known, was the general exhibition, Category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It is considered to be the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century, with the...

 in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, and Flerena in 1968.

Lowen started Twen in 1968 and designed the Twen-1 range (1968) and Twen-2 in 1969. In 1970 Lowen designed the T-21 range and model T-4. In 1972 Twenwas reborn as Tessa. The T-6 (1973), the T-8 range (with and without armrests) designed in 1976, and the T-9 followed. In the 1980s Lowen designed the Delmont (1980), Sarina (1981) and Sling (1981).

In May 1987 Lowen became a member of the Order of Australia. He died in Melbourne in 2005.