< nr. 35 >

Eames House

by Charles en Ray Eames
Label: Eigen Beheer

Year: 1949

The house, where Charles and Ray Eames have live themselves for forty years is also know as Case Study House No.8. The designer couple came up with the idea for the house for the Case Study House program for a design contest. The contest was launched by the owner of the Arts & Architecture Magazine, John Entenza, which asked designers and architects to develop models of modern America homes.

Charles and Ray Eames put everything in their design of a pre-manufactured home, consisting of off-the-shelf panels, standard windows and a staircase of maritime components. The house was, for those times, also relatively cheap, which complied with the couple’s philosophy, to create designs accessible for everyone. On the outside of the building there are red, white and blue panels, which gives it a Mondriaan-esque look and feel.

In the summer of 2009, the 60th birthday of the Eames House in the Pacific Palisades, was celebrated with a picnic. Even now, many designers and architects are infatuated with the both simple, and ingenious and material friendly design. The home is still maintained by the Eames Foundation and is completely authentic on the inside. The design couple, who were renowned for never throwing anything away, turned their house into a liveable museum, full of art, folklore and designs of their own, as well as designer friends. On occasion, guided tours of the house are organised for which aficionados are more than happy to queue up. 'I have yet to meet anyone who has been there and hasn't fallen in love with it', writes design journalist Alice Rawsthorn in The New York Times (15/6/2009).