The Evolution of Eames

ETH, the Evolution of WEAMESA Charles and Ray Eames are cornerstones of modern design. Throughout their major contributions to architecture, furniture and industry, the pair succeeded in "positively impacting people's lives and environments". Join us as we take a look at the evolution of Eames... Charles Ray KAIS'ER EAMES 1907 Charles Eames Junior is 1912 bom in St Louis, Missouri. Bemice Alexandra Kaiser is bon in Sacramento, California. She is nicknamed Ray. 1925 Charles receives an architectural scholarship at Washington University. 1929 1930 Charles marries Catherine Woermann and discovers the architecture of Lucwig Mies Van Der Rohe and Le Corbusier during his honeymoon. Ray and her mother move to New York, following the death of her father. 1930 1933 Charles partners with Charles Gray to open an architectural office in St Louis. Ray studies painting with Hans Hoffmann, a ground-breaking abstract expressionist painter. 1938 1940 Saarinen offers Charles a fellowship at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Charles begins teaching industrial design - he meets Ray in this role. Ray enrols at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, where she meets Charles. Charles Ray EAMES 1941 CHARLES & RAY MARRY 1941 The pair move to California and create a plywood workshop in their spare room. The room featured the Kazaml, a homemade moulding machine. The wood and glue would be fed into the machine and moulded to a set shape. It gave life to the couple's first mass manufactured project: a plywood leg splint. 1942 The Eames receive an order for 5,000 splints from the US Navy and open a design studio near to their home. The pair continued to experiment with plywood, creating chairs, tables, toys and more. 1945 PLYWOOD CHAIR Their Plywood Chair is put into production. 1946 After a show at the MOMA in New York, Charles is hired by the Herman Miller company. 1950 The MOMA launches their The Good Design exhibition, which features many pieces designed by the Eames. 6789 12345 GOOD DESIGN 1952 The Eames launch the first version of the House of Cards, triggering a love of puzzles, films and games. Initially, 1955 the chair was crafted from coated metal, although this was later changed to fiberglass-reinforced moulded plastic for practicality. Responding to a demand for a lightweight, stacking chair, the Stacking and Ganging Side Chair was created. 1956 The Lounge Chair is put on sale. The pairexperimented with other materials, such as fibreglass, plastic, leather and aluminium, although Charles always prefered to work with plywood. 1958 The Aluminium Series, a collection of office fumiture, is launched. ALUMINIUM SERIES 1964 The Eames design the IBM Pavilion at the New York World's Fair. 1978 Charles Eames dies in Los Angeles on August 21st 1978. After the passing of her husband, Ray worked tirelessly to complete the duo's unfinished projects. She did not undertake any new design work. 1988 Ray Eames dies exactly 10 years later on the same day, August 21st 1988. ICONIC WORK Perhaps one of the most recognisable PLYWOOD CHAIR Eames' designs, the Plywood Chair was putinto production in 1945. Because of the couple's experiments with moulding processes, they were able to create a uniquely shaped seat, backrest and base, giving the chairan imviting. comfortable appearance. The chair's effortless lines have since garnered an iconic status. The Plywood chair was named the Design of the 20th Century by TIME Magazine. In 1956, Eames designed the Lounge LOUNGE CHAIR Chair and Ottoman in response to Billy Wilder's request for an "ultra, & OTTOMAN ultra, ultra comfortable modern lounge chair". Experimenting with new materials, it was created using rosewood veneer and leather to give the "warm, receptive look of a well-used first baseman's mitt". The plush cushions and organic curves of the chair helped to ensure the user's overall comfort La Chaise was designed by Charles and Ray as a competition entry and was largely inspired by the Gaston Lachaise's Floating Figure. The free flowing curves of this fibreglass creation features striking remnants of the original sculpture. LA CHAISE Offering a variety of lounging pos itions, the chair was never sold during Charles and Ray's lifetime, as fibreglass production was too expensive. WIRE MESH CHAIR The Eames Wire Mesh Chair brought wire to the forefront of their designs. While it had been previously used to create bases for fibreglass creations, the material was now centre stage. Patented for the technological innovation of its design, the chair boasts a clear industrial edge. In 1952, the design received the Trail Blazer Award by the Home Fashions League of America. SOURCES design.designmuseum.org/design/charles-ray-eames eamesoffice.com/eames-office/who-we-are/ aram.co.uk/designers/charles-ray-eames/dcw-eames-plywood-chalchtml aram.co.uk/designers/charles-ray-eames/la-chalse.html eamesoffice.com/the-work/la-chalse/ design-museum.de/en/collection/100-masterpleces/detallselten/dkr-eames.html curbed.com/archlves/2012/11/06/yes-the-eames-molded-plywood-chalr-once-cost-25-php books.google.co.uk/books?idF8x9J35zdHmAC&pgFPA1128lpg=PA112&dF%E2%80%9Cwarm,treceptivet looktoftatwell-used+first+baseman%E2%80%99stmitt%E2%80%9D&source=bl&ots=nAGLATeswv&siFy6y- 15MI4X5IHS2G4EEVWYIW2YEC&hFen&sa=X&ved=0CCBQ6AEWAmovChMI77Dq6PjnyAIVIDgUChOTU- ASPIVFonepage&F%E2%80%9cwarm%2C%20receptive%20look%200%20a%20wellused%20nrst%20 basemanKE2%80%99s%20mitt%E2%80%9D&Ffalse COURTESY OF Www.ARAM.CO.UK c commons LEG SPLINT STACKING CHAIR