LCW Chair (1948) - iDesignWiki

The Eames Lounge Chair Wood (LCW) is a low seated easy chair designed by husband and wife teamCharles and Ray Eames.

TheLCW(also known asLow Chair WoodorEames Plywood Lounge Chair)被认为是一个标志性的设计,约会的period of Charles and Ray Eames’s early experiments with three-dimensionally molded plywood.

The Eames Lounge Chair Wood, by Charles and Ray Eames, 1948.

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Designing the Eames Lounge Chair Wood

The chair was designed using technology formolding plywoodthat the Eames developed before and during the Second World War. Before American involvement in the war in 1940,Charles Eamesand his friend, architectEero Saarinen, entered and won a MoMA contest exploring thenatural evolution of furniturein response to the rapidly changing world. However, the production of the chairs was postponed due to production difficulties, and then by the United States’ entry into WWII. Saarinen left the project due to frustration with production cycle.

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The LCW Structure: Molded Plywood and Shock Mounts

The design of this chair arose from experiments withmolding plywoodconducted by Charles and Ray Eames during the Second World War. Their research focused primarily on forming plywood inthree planesto createsoftly curving,organic shapes.

They finally succeeded with the Lounge Chair Wood. In fact, they came up withtwo separate piecesfor the seat and backrest of the chair, joined by aplywood spineand supported byplywood legs. The result was a chair with asleekandhonestappearance where all of the connections were visible and the material was not hidden beneath the upholstery. The seat was joined to the spine and legs with a series of four heavyrubber washerswith nuts embedded in them, later called “shock mounts”. The shock mounts were glued to the underside of the seat and screwed in through the bottom of the chair. The backrest was also attached using shock mounts while, from the front and top, the seat and back are uninterrupted by fasteners.

One of two shock mounts holding the back of the Lounge Chair Metal. The black rubber is glued to the wood. — One of two shock mounts holding the back of the Lounge Chair Metal. The black rubber is glued to the wood

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A Unique Technology and a Great Flaw

Therubber mountsused for the Eames Lounge Chair Wood werepliable, allowing the backrest to flex and move with the sitter. This unique technology was indeed innovative but it also proved to be one of the chair’sgreatest flaws. In fact, the shock mounts are glued to the wooden backrest but maytear freefor various reasons. A later response to this problem was to drill directly through the backrest and insert fasteners between the backrest and the lumbar support, but this alterationgreatly devalued the chair, since it alters theoriginal aestheticofsmooth,uninterrupted wooden forms.

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The Plywood Group and the Future of Eames Design

Even though the plywood chair was a compromise of the Eames’ vision to create a single shell chair it constituteda successful design. Alongside the LCW the Eames created a family of plywood chairs, tables, and folding screens called “The Plywood Group”. The suite success caught the attention of George Nelson, design director ofHerman Miller. Nelson convinced D. J. DePree, the owner of Herman Miller, to hire the Eames Office as designers and bring on production of the Eames plywood furniture.

At the time, the Eames design was a striking new way of looking at furniture and furniture design. In North America Herman Miller has continued producing them since1947until the present day while in Europe,Vitrabecame the producers of Eames furniture. They are the only two legitimate companies producing chairs licensed by the Eames estate.

The chair continues to be an icon ofmodern design. It is retailed around the world and prices for new units continue to rise. In its 1999 millennium edition,Time Magazinehailed the LCW asthe greatest design of the 20th centuryfor its comfort as well as itsstatus symbol.

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Which are the Materials of the LCW Chair?

The back and seat of the Lounge Chair Wood are inmolded plywoodwithface veneerin ash or walnut. The upholstery is made of athin foam padding, covered in leather (LCW Leather) or calfskin hide (LCW Calf‘s Skin), whereas the base is realized in molded plywood with the same face veneer as the back and seat. Seat and backrest are attached to the base withshock mounts(bonded rubber and metal connectors).
During the many years of production, Herman Miller has offered the LCW in a variety of wood veneers and upholsteries over the molded maple inner plies, yet the original production models with the original materials are thehighest valued by collectors.