EAMES ALUMINUM GROUP LOUNGE CHAIR

DATE - 1958, 2011

As with many Eames designs, the concept depends on the strength of the connections, and in this case, the connection was a unique one between metal and upholstery. The chair’s design is relatively simple in that there are only two main elements, the one-piece seating pad, and the aluminum frame. The Eames Aluminum Group Lounge Chair is part of the Eames Aluminum Group Collection. 

Eames Aluminum Group Lounge Chair

Suitable for all weather lounging, the Eames Aluminum Lounge Chair heads outdoors, sporting a new weather-resistant fabric and finish. Add the matching ottoman for the ultimate in outdoor seating comfort and style. Eames Aluminum Group seating always seemed a natural choice for outdoor furniture with its strong but lightweight aluminum frame. Now, upholstered in a highly durable fabric, the Eames Aluminum Lounge Chair takes its rightful place as the definitive weather-resistant outdoor lounge chair. In 2011, decades after this design was introduced, its reintroduction with new all-weather upholstery was recognized with ICFF Editors’ Choice Award for Best Outdoor Furniture.

Constructed with a die-cast aluminum frame and a sling “sitting pocket” that conforms to your shape, it’s a comfortable office lounge chair that begs to be brought home.

The Eames Aluminum Group Lounge Chair resulted from the Eames’s experimentation with aluminum, which became more affordable after WWII. The lithe chairs of the Eames Aluminum Group have been a popular design since their introduction in 1958. Their graceful silhouettes work well in a variety of home and workplace interiors.

Given that these chairs are so popular in interiors, it is interesting that the inspiration for them developed because of the need for high-quality outdoor seating. Eero Saarinen asked Charles and Ray to produce the Eames Aluminum Group Collection as a special project for his and Alexander Girard’s Irwin Miller House in Columbus, Indiana.

While working on the chairs, the husband-and-wife team often referred to them as the “indoor-outdoor group.” The latter is revealing of the Eameses’ design philosophy. They strived to make their products perform well in addressing as many needs as possible. That a chair would work outdoors and indoors was part of their original concept.

Charles and Ray had used aluminum in earlier chair and table bases and had also experimented with stamping chair shells out of aluminum sheets for the Low-Cost Furniture Design competition; however, the Eames Aluminum Group marked their first use of the material for structural side members and represented a major departure from the concept of the chair as a solid shell.

Herman Miller began manufacturing the Eames line of aluminum furniture in 1958, and, now along with Vitra, they continue to sell the chairs.

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