Molded Plywood Chairs

Famous Furniture EAMES MOLDED PLYWOOD CHAIRS

By David Heim

he year was 1941. New- In 1946, New York’s Museum gushed that it was “the chair of Seat formed with compound curves using lyweds Charles and Ray of Modern Art staged an exhibi- the century.” heat and pressure TEames left the famed tion titled “New Furniture by In the years following that Cranbrook Academy of Art, Charles Eames,” which featured museum exhibition, the Eames in Michigan, and moved to an all-plywood lounge chair like studio became extremely influ- Southern California, where they nothing seen before. The design ential and successful in the launched a furniture design featured four pieces of curved world of product design. Their studio. They began to experi- plywood (seat, back, and two work helped define the look we ment with molded plywood, U-shaped legs) screwed to a now call Mid-century Modern. using heat and pressure to create sinuous plywood spine. Rose- In 1956, they delivered another curved plywood elements on wood face veneers conveyed blockbuster—their cushioned a homemade contraption they elegance, but the chair’s exposed lounge chair and ottoman. It dubbed the Kazam! Machine plywood edges were meant to debuted during a segment on a (see photo, center right). honestly express the innovative daytime television show aimed World War II advanced their fabrication process. It was the at women. U-shaped plywood work. The duo devel- designers’ intention to “let the Like the plywood chair, the legs oped production techniques to results of the mass production lounger uses separate pieces of fashion some 150,000 molded- technique show through” in the curved plywood, but they’re plywood splints for the Navy. finished piece of furniture. connected by metal brackets They also began producing ply- The comfort and unabashed or plates and rubber shock wood airplane parts—includ- modernity of the molded ply- absorbers. The bracket con- ing a contoured pilot’s seat (see wood chair had a game-chang- necting the seat to the base photo, top right). This impor- ing effect on furniture design. allows the seat to swivel and tant manufacturing work gave Eliot Noyes, the museum’s cura- rock slightly. The Eameses said the couple insights they applied tor of industrial design, called they wanted their lounge chair to their furniture designs. the chair “a compound of aes- to have the “warm receptive thetic brilliance and technical look of a well-used first base- inventiveness.” One design critic man’s mitt.” An article in Play- boy magazine said the chair Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, 1956 “sank the sitter into a volup- man have always been in con- tuous luxury that few mortals tinuous production. Herman since Nero have known.” Miller makes them in the U.S.; Charles Eames died a company called Vitra makes in 1978; Ray, ten them in Europe. years later. But their At Herman Miller, indus- furniture is still going trial-size presses use heat and strong. Both the 1946 chair pressure to create curved ply- (officially the LCW, short for wood parts, using much the lounge chair wood) and the same techniques the Eameses 1956 lounge chair and otto- developed 75 years earlier with

56 Photos: Chairs and ottoman courtesy Herman Miller, Inc. Rubber shock absorbers

Curved “spine” connects legs, seat, and back

7 two-ply layers of veneer for plywood Early work. Experiments in bending plywood caught the attention of the U.S. Defense Dept. during World War II. The pilot seats designed and produced by Charles and Ray Eames represented a breakthrough in compound-curve plywood construction. Their Eames LCW chair, 1946 forming device, dubbed the Kazam! Machine, 1 1 1 22" W, 25 ⁄4" D, 26 ⁄4" H. Seat height: 15 ⁄2" relied on toaster-like wires to heat wood plies, and an inflatable balloon to apply pressure.

More than chair designers Furniture may have made them famous, but their Kazam! Machine. CNC Charles and Ray Eames put their creative talents machines cut the pieces to their to use across a dazzling array of disciplines. For final shape and sculpt the foam more than 40 years, the Eames office worked for the lounge chair’s cushions. extensively in graphic design while also creating But every stage of production toys, textiles, furniture, and houses. They also also involves handwork—sand- wrote books and produced films. To learn more ing sheets of veneer and fin- about this unique couple, visit eamesoffice.com. ished moldings, spraying on One of the goals the Eames tried to achieve a lacquer finish, sewing the in their design and manufacturing work is lounger’s cushions, and inspect- also a tribute to their success: “The best for ing each piece along the way. n the most for the least amount of money.”

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