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CHARLES EAMES

Charles Ormond Eames Jr. along with his wife and


collaborator Ray Eames occupies a central position in the history of
post-war American design, and is considered to be one of the most
important American designers of the twentieth century. His
architecture and exhibition designs earned him international fame,
as did his films and multi-media presentations. Today, the work of
Eames is admired not only by architects and designers, but also by
post-modernists. Eames’s products appealed to those who wanted
contemporary styles and imagery but found much modernist design
cold and impersonal. He had a vision of life made better through
design and technology as his belief in the crucial role of technology
never wavered. Eames played a pivotal role in making modernism
acceptable to the non-elite Americans in the post-war years. His
work reveals a dynamic fusion of aesthetic, technical and, at times,
intellectual concerns. His workshop could be best described as the
‘Renaissance workshop’ and ‘a designer’s heaven’.

In 1930, he established his own architectural firm in St. Louis


with partner Charles Gray and was later joined by a third partner,
Walter Pauley. With his further progress, he received a fellowship to
Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, where he later became the
head of design department.

He met Eero Sarinen there with whom he designed prize-winning


furniture for the museum of modern art’s ‘Organic Furniture
Competition’ by molding plywood into intricate curves and designs.
He also met Ray Kaiser who assisted him in his designing and later
became his wife and business partner.

In 1941, he moved to California along with his wife Ray Kaiser Eames
and continued his designing work by molding plywood. During the
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Second World War, they were commissioned by the Navy to
produce molded plywood splints, stretchers and experimental
glider shells.

In 1946, they started their own furniture label known as ‘Eameses’


molded plywood furniture. Their molded plywood chair was called
‘The chair of the century’ by an architectural critic Esther McCoy.
The production was later taken by Herman Miller Inc. in the United
States and they own it to this day.

They expanded their establishment and partnership by opening a


branch in Europe as well, where a company called ‘Vitra
International’ was given the manufacturing rights.

He included a number of remarkable designers in his office which


was operational for more than four decades. It incorporated Henry
Beer, Richard Foy, Harry Bertoia, and Gregory Ain. Many innovative
designs emerged out including, the molded-plywood DCW (Dining
Chair Wood) and DCM (Dining Chair Metal with a plywood seat)
(1945), Eames Lounge Chair (1956), the Aluminum Group furniture
(1958), Eames Chaise (1968), the playful Do-Nothing Machine (1957)
and toys.

In 1970-71, he gave a series of lectures at Harvard University, ‘The


Charles Eliot Norton lectures’, an annual lectureship, where he
introduced his ‘banana leaf parable’ concept.

Ray Kaiser Eames

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By the 1950’s, the Eameses refocused their attentions on the
furniture market aiming to create robust furniture which would be
affordable for every income. This functional, industrial design was
and still is particularly interesting to public services and business-
the Tandem seating series can be seen in airport lounges the world
over to this day.

“The objective is the simple thing of getting the best to the greatest number of people for the
least” – Charles Eames, 1950

Perhaps the most iconic design to come out of Eames’


‘laboratory’ is the Lounge Chair and Ottoman. Their take on the
traditional English club chair, originally featured a rosewood veneer
but is more commonly finished with Walnut or Cherry wood today.
The design classic has a sumptuous down filled leather cushioning
and is a true representation of the Eamses admiration for organic
architecture, perfectly ergonomic and in line with the simplistic
modernist aesthetic.

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Refrences:
1. http://ironochi.com/2015/12/11/the-life-of-charles-and-ray-eames/
2. http://www.technologystudent.com/prddes1/eames1.html
3. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/charles-eames-3366.php
4. https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/15-things-charles-and-ray-eames-
teach-us

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