Monday 15 August 2011

Contextual Essay


 Charles EAMES (designer)
United States 1907- 78
LCW chair (LCW = Lounge Chair Wood)
1945 designed, 1940s manufactured
plywood, rubber








Charles Eames designed some of the most important examples of 20th century furniture, he also applied his talents to devising ingenious children's toys, puzzles, films, exhibitions and such iconic mid-20th century Los Angeles buildings as the Eames House and Entenza House in Pacific Palisades. He developed a successful technique for moulding plywood into three-dimensional shapes, which led to the creation of a variety of furnishing and sculptures. Charles' design is a successful synthesis of formal and technical innovation.
The materials of  LCW chair are moulded ash plywood; the seat and backrest sections connected to the base by means of rubber/metal elements (shock mounts). In the early 1940s, Charles Eames used thin sheets of veneer and a bicycle-pump compressor, experimenting with wood-molding techniques. In order to produce the Plywood Group layers of plywood are bent, pressed into shape and then hardened. The gently curving surfaces of the thin wooden back and seat shells give support to the body. Individual elements are fixed to the frame by means of supple rubber discs, which increase sitting comfort.

For more than four decades, American designer Charles Eames helped shape nearly every facet of American life. From his architecture, furniture, and textile designs to his photography and corporate design, he exerted a profound influence on the visual character of daily life in America, whether at work or at home. He pioneering use of new materials and technologies, notably plywood and plastics, transformed the way Americans furnished their homes, introducing functional, affordable, and often highly sculptural objects and furnishings to many middle-class Americans.





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