Charles and Ray Eames

Charles and Ray Eames

Charles and Ray Eames

Charles and Ray Eames are known as one of the most important designers of the 20th century.

Charles Eames was born in 1907 June 17th, in St Louis Missouri. He started to study architecture in Washington University but never finished because the university dropped him out after two tears. In 1930 he had opened his first architectural firm on his own but later on he was offered a fellowship at the Cranbrook Academy where he became the head of the design department.

Ray Kaiser Eames was born December 15th 1912 in California. She studied painting with Hans Hoffman in New York City from 1933 to 1939. Later on she moved over to Cranbrook Academy where she met Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen. She assisted them in creating the ‘’Organic Chair’’ (1940). This chair was a small reading chair, it had a sculptural organic shape with a modern style. They won first place with chair.

Charles and Ray got married in June 1941, moved to Los Angeles where they established The Eames Office. They were influenced by a lot of things that surrounded them but nature played an important role in their inspiration. They experimented with molded-plywood methods to create affordable, high quality products. Molding plywood was the key for them because it let them manipulate it in different unique forms and this led them to create a collection of chairs, tables and other furniture. Their first molded plywood chair was produced in 1946.

The Eames Plywood Lounge Chair (1946)

The Eames Plywood Lounge Chair, is an icon chair because it was the first of many other plywood chairs. This chair had a very strong structure but light in weight and hard-wearing. It had an organic form and looked very elegant and modern for that time. The chair is made up of layered plywood and glue. The layers of plywood are stacked and bound together with glue and then put under a lot of pressure and heat also known as the steam-bending technique. The Eames wanted to create an organic form with curves, that supported the human body. 

The Eames Plywood Lounge Chair (1946)

Other materials that the Eames experimented with are fiberglass, bent plastic and wire mesh. These modern materials allowed them to achieve new boundaries. 

Another Iconic Chair of Charles and Ray is the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman. This chair was launched in 1956 and never stopped being produced. This chair is made up of sleek molded plywood and leather.

Other Chairs by Charles and Ray Eames 

Eames Wire Chair, Copper Plated Eames Wire Chair by Charles and  Ray Eames (1951)

By Charles & Ray Eames, (1948) Molded fiberglass, metal frame.

Eames’ House

The Eames House 1950.

View from the living room. 

Charles and Ray Eames in their living room , photographed by Julius Shulman in 1958.

The Eames house known as ''Case Study No8'' was designed by Charles and Ray Eames themselves and was finished din 1949. The house is modular in its design, it's made up pillars, a geometric structure, glass and bright colours. This house represents all the ideas that the Eames couple had, incorporated into one building. The interior of the house if full of Ray and Charles inventions. The use of innovative materials and organic forms was incorporated into this house. The house wasnt just a home it was their work shop, they live their for the rest of their lives. It remains as a historical landmark of the 20th century design.

''The Eameses' wholehearted belief that design could improve people's lives remains their greatest legacy. Even more remarkable is how they achieved their seriousness of purpose with elegance, wit, and beauty''.

Reference -

Eames lounge chair (2016) in Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eames_Lounge_Chair (Accessed: 24 May 2016).

Miller, H. (2016) Eames lounge and Ottoman - lounge chair. Available at: http://www.hermanmiller.com/products/seating/lounge-seating/eames-lounge-chair-and-ottoman.html (Accessed: 24 May 2016).

EamesCharles— (2016) ‘Charles and Ray Eames’, in Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_and_Ray_Eames#Charles_Eames (Accessed: 24 May 2016).

AG, V.I. (2016) Charles Eames & Eero Saarinen. Available at: https://www.vitra.com/en-pl/corporation/designer/details/charles-eames-eero-saarinen (Accessed: 24 May 2016).

Herman Miller (2011) America Meets Charles and Ray Eames. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBLMoMhlAfM (Accessed: 24 May 2016).

Charles Eames and Ray Eames. Side chair (model DCW). 1946 (no date) Available at: http://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/charles-eames-and-ray-eames-side-chair-model-dcw-1946 (Accessed: 24 May 2016).

Shannon, J. (2011) Two parts of a whole: The legacy of Charles and Ray Eames | Demanders. Available at: http://www.rogerebert.com/demanders/two-parts-of-a-whole-the-legacy-of-charles-and-ray-eames (Accessed: 24 May 2016).

Eames house (2016) in Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eames_House (Accessed: 24 May 2016).

Eames house conservation project (no date) Available at: http://www.getty.edu/conservation/our_projects/field_projects/eameshouse/eames_overview.html (Accessed: 24 May 2016).

(No Date) Available at: https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/eames/overview.html (Accessed: 24 May 2016).