Lounge chair

The lounge chair in profile

The lounge chair and the accompanying ottoman are designs by the American designer couple Charles and Ray Eames from 1956.

development

After several years of development, in 1956 they presented the armchair and stool that they developed for the furniture manufacturer Herman Miller . Herman Miller has been producing the furniture ever since. In Europe, the armchair has been produced under license by Vitra since 1957 . While Herman Miller produces armchairs and ottoman with the frame specially designed by Eames for the Lounge Chair with height-adjustable stainless steel glides, Vitra equips the licensed version with the “Contract Base”, which is used for numerous designs and a. was used for tables and aluminum chairs. With the Lounge Chair, the Eames presented their first designs for the high-price segment, before they had focused on inexpensive furniture.

During the development they were inspired by the film director Billy Wilder . Wilder lacked a comfortable armchair on the film set on which he could rest and sleep during the breaks. So it came about that he received one of the first finished armchairs as a gift.

construction

Side view of armchair and ottoman

The armchair and the corresponding ottoman have basically the same construction. Leather cushions are attached to the plywood shells, which rest on a rotating steel base, as a seat and armrest. The leather cushions made of aniline leather are attached with clips and can be removed. The pillows have small, invisible air holes from which the air can flow out when you sit down. The choice of materials and colors used changed over time. The rosewood initially used did not prove to be sufficiently durable. For reasons of sustainability, the bowl is now made from the similar-looking Santos rosewood. Other versions, such as B. cherry or walnut are available. The shells are 8 mm thick. Since people have grown steadily over the decades, the Lounge Chair has also been offered in a (hardly noticeable) enlarged version since this millennium (original height: 84 cm, comfort height: 89 cm). A plaque with the inscription "Lounge Chair & Ottoman Design: Charles & Ray Eames, 1956 New Dimensions The authorized Original Vitra." Is attached to the underside of the chair.

armchair

The armchair consists of three plywood shells. The lower one, to which the star-shaped swivel base is attached, is screwed to the middle shell, which forms the lower part of the back, via a metal plate under the armrests. The plywood shell of the upper part of the backrest is connected to the middle shell via rubber-mounted metal supports. This makes it possible that this part co-springs.

Ottoman

The upholstered ottoman consists of a curved plywood shell on which a single seat cushion with leather cover is attached. Unlike the armchair, the base is cross-shaped, so it only has four individual feet.

reception

The piece of furniture is part of the permanent exhibition of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, the Design Museum Danmark in Copenhagen and other design museums . The lounge chair has been used several times as a prop in films and television productions, for example in various James Bond films, Iron Man 2 , Tron Legacy and series such as Frasier or Gossip Girl .

various

In 2013, French President François Hollande obliged the French ministers to publish their financial situation. Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg said that he had an Eames Chair in addition to a Peugeot.

literature

Martin Eidelberg, Thomas Hine, Pat Kirkham: The Eames Lounge Chair. An Icon of Modern Design . Merrell Holberton, London 2006, ISBN 978-1-85894-302-2 .
Marilyn Neuhart, John Neuhart: The Story of Eames Furniture . Gestalten, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-89955-230-0 .
Robert Judson Clark, Andrea PA Belloli: Design in America: The Cranbrook Vision, 1925–1950 . Detroit Institute of Arts, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY 1983, ISBN 0-8109-0801-8 , pp. 126 f .