Archinect - News

A look back at Charles & Ray Eames' lesser-known designs in honor of their symmetry in life and death

2022-08-22T18:31:00-04:00

Yesterday's date, August 21st, occupies a unique place in architectural and design history as the day when Charles and Ray Eames both passed away, separated by a decade (1978 and 1988), respectively.

The shared life and work of the iconic power couple has since become the subject of numerous books, catalogs, museum retrospectives, and an excellent 2011 documentary (to name only a few), and enjoys an outsized place in the rich lineage of other husband-and-wife architectural partnerships continued today by the work of SO – IL, TWBTA, Höweler + Yoon, DS+R, and many others.

From the possible influence on early hip-hop carried on later by Ice Cube and Michael Ford, to Ray’s rediscovered RIBA Gold Medal speech, the studio’s legacy as ongoing source of inspiration, and the tranquility of watching perhaps their most famous design being assembled by hand, Archinect has explored the output of their relationship from a number of different angles over the years. All are exemplary of the many me...

Eames Office catalog to be examined in a collectable 80-year retrospective

2021-11-05T14:09:00-04:00

To coincide with the firm’s historic 80th anniversary, Eames Office is being celebrated with a retrospective currently taking place at the legendary ISETAN THE SPACE gallery in Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward.

The influential duo’s work and simple philosophy are seemingly more relevant than ever, and their contributions to the visual and material culture of the 20th century will be examined in a selling exhibition spanning the entirety of the firm’s eight-decade creative and commercial output.

Image courtesy Eames Office

Divided into three spaces, the exhibition starts with the Eameses' early-40’s breakthrough and extends to their modern-day heirs’ continued collaborations with designers like Reebok, Vitra, and Uniqlo.

Image courtesy Eames Office

The Art & Technology portion centers Charles and Ray’s 1943 plywood sculpture as the linchpin to which a diverse array of creations can trace their origin. Everything from designs for a Navy leg splint during World War II, to their important films, and...

Herman Miller teams up with Hip Hop Architect Michael Ford

2021-01-19T11:16:00-05:00

Herman Miller has partnered with Hip Hop Architect Michael Ford, to host Conversations for Change, a platform for discussions about racial inequity, social justice, and hope.

Ford has produced his first piece of furniture with Herman Miller, a modified version of the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman (ELO) that was originally launched in 1956 by Charles and Ray Eames. For Ford's remix, he has handwritten the names of victims of racism in the United States as a tribute to those who lost their lives to racial injustice.

According to the Conversations for Change website, "The ELO will travel across the US from Jan 18th, 2021 through February 2021, and people of influence; activists, actors, artists, and design professionals will sit in the Mike Ford ELO as they speak with Ford over Instagram Live via @HermanMiller and @TheHipHopArchitect, about the racial disparities in their industries and the injustice that they’ve faced."

Denver Art Museum delves into the "Serious Play" behind Mid-Century Modernism

2019-07-09T11:00:00-04:00

Serious Play: Design in Midcentury America, an exhibition currently on view at the Denver Art Museum (DAM), delves into some of the more joyful aspects of 20th Century design.

Highlighting works by Charles and Ray Eames, Isamu Noguchi, Henry P. Glass, Herbert Bayer, Eva Zeisel, and Alexander Girard, among others, the colorful and whimsical exhibition seeks to position play as a primary "catalyst for creativity and innovation," according to a press release.

Armchair for Braniff International by Alexander Girard. Image courtesy of Wright.

The exhibition, co-organized with the Milwaukee Art Museum, is co-curated by Christoph Heinrich, director of DAM, Darrin Alfred, curator of architecture and design at DAM, and Monica Obniski, curator of 20th and 21st Century design at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Presenting over 200 design objects, including drawings, models, textiles, ceramics, playground equipment, and furniture, the exhibition argues that during the Mid-Century era, material innova...

Iconic Eames chair is transformed into intriguingly obscure art by British artist and designer Chris Labrooy

2019-06-05T13:00:00-04:00

There’s something Duchamp-esque about the latest work of Chris Labrooy. The British artist and designer’s ongoing remix project, Garden of Eames, transforms the classic Eames shell chair, designed in 1950, into surreal fine art that packs an absurdist punch.

There is no doubt about the long-lasting contributions Ray and Charles Eames have made in architecture and design. When their classic shell chair was created in 1950, its creation was initially a submission idea for the Museum of Modern Art's sponsored competition "International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design." The chair's material and straightforward style was designed for families to have an inexpensive alternative for furnishing their homes after the war. Produced in a variety of colors, patterns, and materials, the chair still lives on as an iconic furniture piece found in many homes, offices, and restaurants.

Eames interlocking fiberglass remix. Work and Image © Chris Labrooy

Eames greenhouse remix. Work and Image © Chris Labrooy

Understanding the chair's long-lasting impact on the design world, British artist and designer Chris Labrooy decided to take a different approach to the chair's look and use. Part of his ongoing remix project, Garden of Eames, Labrooy turns t...

This is what happens when you combine the Eames Lounge Chair with a computer mouse

2019-04-22T12:52:00-04:00

As paying a tribute to the legendary designers, the design addresses the ergonomics and style of a computer mouse from the perspective of designing furniture.

Shane Chen, a Brooklyn-based industrial designer, took two classic designs (well, one classic and one classically ubiquitous) and mashed them up into this compelling concept for a computer mouse.

Eames office partners with clothing company Uniqlo

2017-09-25T13:27:00-04:00

In collaboration with the Eames Office, UNIQLO will launch its SPRZ NY EAMES Collection starting September 25, 2017. This collection will celebrate the groundbreaking contributions of Charles and Ray Eames to modern design, art, and culture.

The Japanese clothing company creates collaborations with famous fashion designers, museums and artists, and now also with architects. If you have always wanted a t-shirt with the image of a piece of modern furniture on it, this is your chance!

Courtesy of Eames Office

Bliss out to this tranquil video of an Eames Lounge Chair being assembled by hand

2016-10-11T14:16:00-04:00

It's like the furniture version of ASMR. This short video from Vitra shows the materials of an Eames Lounge Chair coming together:

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