The next time that you sit down to a table in a local restaurant for a nice meal with friends, rest in a waiting room, or even thumb through an Ikea catalogue (apologies to those that ‘yuck’ on that idea)—take note of the furniture that stands before your eyes…have you ever given it more thought than the function it is about to perform for you? It has been designed by someone, who, perhaps, has been hired to make sure it is (hopefully) structurally sound, aesthetically appealing (again, hopefully), and possibly economically purchased, therefore mass produced.
Is it a work of art? Do you consider it the work of a master?
Often little attention is given to the ingenuity and craftsmanship of design, so in order to pay it a little respect, I would like to introduce you to a pair whose work you might be somewhat familiar, or dare I say “comfortable” with, Charles Eames and his wife Ray Kaiser Charles Eames (American, b.1907), studied architecture at the Washington University in Illinois, during a time of great innovation in the discipline.
Great advances in building technology at the turn of the 20th century, namely steel reinforced concrete, allowed architects the design freedom to build taller buildings on a steel skeleton permitting the use of more glass and therefore, more natural light and a better view of the outdoors. After graduation in the late 1920s, Eames was fortunate enough to tour Europe and see the revolutionary designs of such masters in his field as Le Corbusier, Mies Van der Rohe and Walter Gropius. Although this was a time of reconstruction after the Great War and utilitarianism was the mode, steel technology allowed this group of architects the freedom to use more organic forms in their designs and, as a result of the option to employ more glass in their structures, buildings that were based more around their external surroundings.
Eames’ own work really began to take off when he joined forces with his second wife, Ray Kaiser (American, b.1912). Ray was a student of famous painter Hans Hoffman and had keen interest in all the arts, including film and dance. The pair, finding it difficult to secure work during the depression, settled in Los Angeles, Eames finding work designing sets for MGM and Kaiser creating covers for architectural magazines.
Secretly, in the evenings, the couple conducted plywood experiments in their apartment turned studio.
Their aim, along with several collaborators, was to make functional furniture with an attractive design that could be produced cheaply and quickly on a massive scale. Their experiments and designs proved to be successful and the Eames began to get contracts for their moulded plywood furniture that combined an organic aesthetic with technical ingenuity. Branching out from wood, the couple also pioneered such technologies that are widely used today, such as fibreglass, plastic resin, and wire mess chairs. Most notable is the 1956 Lounge Chair, made from leather and plywood, a design that is still quite popular in rec rooms today.
For the sake of the Eames lasting legacy in the history of modern architecture, it is necessary to mention the Eames House was constructed in 1949. The design for this landmark structure was proposed by the husband and wife team for the famous Case Study house program for Arts and Architecture magazine. The goal of this program was to have an architect design a modern house, elaborating on its functional requirements and then actually build the home. The house proposed by the Eames reflected their needs as a young married couple looking for a place to live, work and entertain.
They choose a site along the Pacific coast, and using mostly pre-fabricated steel and glass walls, constructed a home heavily influenced by cubist painter Mondrian’s “Composition in Red, Yellow and Blue”.
As a result, of the replacement of concrete walls for glass, the inhabitant of the home is afforded a spectacular view of the coastal property and exterior greenery, meanwhile, taking advantage of the natural light that is allowed to stream throughout the house. Of all of the proposals that were submitted for the Case Study houses, the Eames House is considered to be the most successful, as it not only made a definite architectural statement, but also functioned quite well as a comfortable and practical living space. The property is still maintained by the Eames family, who continue to use it as an occasional residence, and it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006.
So… consider this: although you might not find the Eames furniture in your hospital waiting room, rec room,or local restaurant, many mass produced models still bear their innovative legacy, either in their design, comfort or materials. For the Silo, Eve Yantha.
