Ray and Charles Eames were American Designers who were two of the best designers of there time. The married couple were massive contributors to modern architecture and furniture design, they also developed careers of many prominent designers which came after them. the couple worked in other fields too such as industrial design, graphic design, fine art and film making them all round design sensations.
Ray and charle’s philosophy was that good design answered to a need, a gap in a person’s life that no one had filled previously and needed to be solved. On one particular day in Hollywood the Eames were about to witness one of these needs first hand and change furniture Design forever. This all happened on the set of one of Billie Wilders movies who was a very prominent producer at the time and also a friend of the couple. The two witnessed Wilder trying to build himself a make shift lounge chair to rest and sleep on in between scenes, a place to get away from the hustle and bustle on a movie set. They saw this as a challenge to create a chair unlike no other.
The set consists of two pieces, the lounge chair and ottoman officially entitled dames lounge (670) and ottoman (671). The chair is made up of three curved shells made from plywood these being the headrest, the backrest and the seat. Nowadays in production, the shells are formed using five thin layers of plywood which are covered with a top layer of Brazilian rosewood veneer. These thin layers are joined using glue and form into the curve using heat and pressure. The earlier models are different to the newer models and this can be noticed from the rubber spacers between the aluminium spines and the wood panels which were used in the earlier productions, hard plastic washers were used in later models. Early versions of the set had the arm rests secured by using 3 screws and the second series only had two. Older models also had brown or black zippers around the cushions which had been changed to just black in newer versions. The seats cushions and shells haven't really changed and are composed of two curved forms which interlock to form a solid whole. Each part of the chair including the back and headrest are identical proportionally as are the seat and ottoman.
Referencing
Eames Lounge and Ottoman - Lounge Chair - Herman Miller. 2014. Eames Lounge and Ottoman - Lounge Chair - Herman Miller. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.hermanmiller.com/products/seating/lounge-seating/eames-lounge-chair-and-ottoman.html. [Accessed 03 November 2014].
The Eames Lounge Chair's Design Story. 2014. The Eames Lounge Chair's Design Story. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.smartfurniture.com/products/Eames-Lounge-Chair/designstory.html. [Accessed 03 November 2014].
Referencing
Eames Lounge and Ottoman - Lounge Chair - Herman Miller. 2014. Eames Lounge and Ottoman - Lounge Chair - Herman Miller. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.hermanmiller.com/products/seating/lounge-seating/eames-lounge-chair-and-ottoman.html. [Accessed 03 November 2014].
The Eames Lounge Chair's Design Story. 2014. The Eames Lounge Chair's Design Story. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.smartfurniture.com/products/Eames-Lounge-Chair/designstory.html. [Accessed 03 November 2014].
