Image source: Herman Miller — Eames Aluminum Group Chairs
© Herman Miller and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research.
Eames Aluminum Group Chairs
The Eames suspension chair family in production since 1958, from side chair to executive chair.
584 × 883 mm
1958
Official product information
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Description
Overview
The Eames Aluminum Group Chairs are a Charles and Ray Eames design that Herman Miller has manufactured since 1958. The family covers executive, management, side and lounge chairs and an ottoman, all built around a continuous piece of upholstery stretched between two aluminium side ribs.
Image source: Herman Miller — Eames Aluminum Group Chairs · © Herman Miller and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research. · View official product page ↗ · Image use & copyright policy
Construction
Herman Miller describes one-piece curved aluminium side ribs and a die-cast aluminium base. The seat and back are a suspension of upholstery, ribbed at 1 7/8-inch intervals when covered in fabric or leather, or a Cygnus mesh. Chairs with a 4-star base have glides; chairs with a 5-star base have a choice of casters. Executive and management models have seat-height and tilt-swivel adjustments.
Specifications
- Management chair (sheet drawing): W 23 in (584 mm), overall height 31.75-34.75 in (up to 883 mm); depth not labelled
- Side chair (price book drawing): 23 in wide, 33 in high, 18.25 in seat height
- Base and frame finishes: white, polished aluminium (indoor only), graphite satin, black
- Seat and back: 21 textile and leather lines, 439 colours on the brochure chip chart
Story
An outdoor commission
Herman Miller's design-story page says the chairs began as a challenge among designers: Eero Saarinen and Alexander Girard, working on the Columbus, Indiana, home of industrialist J. Irwin Miller, wanted a high-quality seat for outdoor use and asked Charles and Ray Eames to develop one. The Eameses built it from cast aluminium with a seat frame meant to carry stretched synthetic mesh.
Changes since 1958
The line has changed and grown since Herman Miller began making it in 1958. The original outdoor mesh was discontinued together with the 4-star base and painted arms of the early designs, a Cygnus mesh was introduced in 2001, and the lounge and side chairs are again available with a 4-star base. The brochure adds that the Eameses later added two-inch-thick cushions, which became the separate Eames Soft Pad Group.
Image source: Herman Miller — Eames Aluminum Group Chairs · © Herman Miller and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research. · View official product page ↗ · Image use & copyright policy
More by Charles and Ray Eames
Occasional Table LTR
Eames low occasional table of 1950 with a steel-wire rod base and wood, HPL, linoleum or marble top.
Soft Pad Chair EA 223
Eames stool for the EA 222 lounge chair, with a sewn-on cushion and an aluminium base, 1969.
Plywood Group DCW
Eames' Dining Chair Wood: made entirely of moulded plywood, 1945/1946.
Eames Chaise
The 1968 Eames Chaise, an 18-inch-wide leather chaise on a die-cast aluminum frame.
Collection
Eames Collection
The Eames Collection at Herman Miller: molded plywood chairs (1946), molded plastic chairs, Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, storage units and Hang-It-All.
