Charles & Ray Eames

Ray and Charles Eames

From two individuals on separate lines of study in life, it became one of the most renowned couple in the design world development which still effects the world of today.

Charles Ormand Eames started as an architectural student in Washington University in 1929. Later he opened an architectural firm in St louis and was a keen fan of the famous architect's work of Frank Loyd Wright. On the other hand Ray Eames started as a student in collage which later continued her studies with Hans Hofmann studying Abstract expressionist painting.

The couple met at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigen were Charles was working as a teacher and Ray was attending in the academy as a student. One can state that their romance was one of the most important love stories for the Design world as later in their life they moved forward and gave influence to the design all over the world by their hard work in exploring new designs for furniture and products and even their contribution for the development of new materials and techniques which regard the manufacturing of products and the selection and manipulation of new materials.

One of the most important leap forward in their career which effected their design ideas and the world in general in different ways was when their started to experiment in wood bending. In 1942 Ray and Charles developed and designed the Eames Splint for the U.S Navy which was a piece of bent wood which will hold the legs of injured soldiers in battle. This splint was modeled and developed on Charles Eames himself. It was estimate that 150,000 units were made. 

Leg splints manufacture from Bent Plywood for the U.S Navy by Charles and Ray Eames

After a year of studying and exploring the options and techniques in bending wood which led to their work for The U.S Navy , Ray and Charles Eames started to design various furniture and other products which featured bent plywood. This technique in wood gave them options in designing furniture such as their famous chairs which features different curves which also improved ergonomics which were made from a single sheet of plywood.

Charles and Ray Eames bent wood chair

Another great contribution which Charles and Ray Eames made to the industry and to the world in general was the start of using plastic for their products that were being manufactured . They were the first to industrially manufacture plastic chairs. their designed chairs are still being manufactured today, The only difference and  improvement made in today's manufacturing of the product designed by the Eames is that nowadays a more eco-friendly materials are being used instead of the plastics that were available in their time.

Ray And Charles Eames plastic chair

Apart from wooden and plastic chairs Ray and Charles introduced wire mesh chairs. These chairs were made from metal wires transformed into a designers chair that was steady and lightweight. such chairs are still in production today and many companies are using this type of design for their chairs. Some Designers today are inspired by the work of Ray and Charles Eames such as Tom Dixon. Tom Dixon designed a series of chairs that are manufactured by using metal wires. In some of his product such as the Link Easy Chair, the influance of the Eames is evident in the design of this chair as it incorporated Tom Dixon's ideas with the design of Ray and Charles design.

Charles and Ray Eames wire chair

Tom Dixon's metal wire chair

Reference:

Eames. 2013. Eames House. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.eameshouse250.org/timeline.html. [Accessed 30 November 13].