Image source: Vitra — Eames Plastic Chairs
© Vitra and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research.
Collection Story
Origin
'The most of the best to the greatest number of people for the least' – the Plastic Chair embodied this goal of Charles and Ray Eames most fully. After unsatisfactory experiments with plywood and sheet aluminium in the 1940s, they turned to glass-fibre reinforced polyester, a material then unknown in furniture. Following their debut at MoMA's 1948 'Low-Cost Furniture Design' competition, the Plastic Armchair (A-shell) and Plastic Side Chair (S-shell) went on sale in 1950 as the first mass-produced plastic chairs.
Design Language
A one-piece seat shell moulded to the contours of the body, joined to a variety of bases – wood, wire, rocker, swivel – created a new typology: the multifunctional chair. Since 2024 Vitra makes the shells from post-consumer recycled plastic (the 'Yellow Bag' household collection in Germany), renaming the family Eames Plastic Chair RE; the shells are 100% recyclable.
Key Pieces
- Eames Plastic Side Chair DSW (wooden base)
- Eames Plastic Armchair DAW / DAR / RAR (rocker)
- Side and armchairs on wire, swivel and office bases
Pieces in this collection
Eames Plastic Armchair RE DAR
Eames armchair shell on the wire 'Eiffel Tower' base, in recycled polypropylene
Eames Plastic Side Chair DSW
The Eames side shell on a four-legged wooden base, now in recycled plastic
Eames Plastic Stool RE High
Eames Plastic Stool RE: tall four-legged stool in recycled plastic for standing-height tables
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