VitraEames Plastic ChairInformationProducts of the familyDesigner Eames Plastic ChairsCharles & Ray Eames, 1950'Getting the most of the best to the greatest number of people for the least': with these words, Charles and Ray Eames described one of their main goals as furniture designers. None of their other designs come as close to achieving this ideal as the Plastic Chairs. For years, the designer couple explored the fundamental idea of a one-piece seat shell moulded to fit the contours of the human body. After experiments with plywood and sheet aluminium in the 1940s produce unsatisfactory results, their search for alternative materials led them to glass-fibre reinforced polyester resin.The Eameses recognised and fully exploited the advantages of the material: mouldability, rigidity, pleasant tactile qualities, suitability for industrial manufacturing methods. With this material, which was previously unknown in the furniture industry, they successfully developed the shell designs for serial production.
After their debut at the 'Low-Cost Furniture Design' competition organised by the Museum of Modern Art in 1948, the Plastic Armchair (A-shell) and Plastic Side Chair (S-shell) were launched on the market in 1950 as the very first mass-produced plastic chairs in the history of furniture.The Eames Plastic Chairs also introduced a new furniture typology that has since become widespread: the multifunctional chair whose shell can be joined with a variety of different bases to serve diverse purposes. As early as 1950, Charles and Ray Eames presented a series of bases that enabled various sitting positions. An especially striking model is the so-called Eiffel Tower base – an intricate and graceful design made of steel wire that inimitably combines light, elegant forms with structural strength.Today Vitra manufactures the comfortable seat shells of the Plastic Side Chairs and Plastic Armchairs in polypropylene, offering a multitude of bases, shell colours and upholstery options. This allows customers to specify countless different combinations and to use the chairs in the widest range of settings – from dining rooms, living rooms and home offices to office workspaces and conference rooms;
from restaurants and cafés to break rooms and cafeterias; from waiting areas and auditoriums to terraces and gardens.In 2016 Vitra has added approximately 20 mm to the height of the Eames Plastic Chairs DSX, DAX, DSR, DAR, DSW and DAW, while also revising the seat geometry. These modifications, which are aesthetically almost imperceptible, increase the comfort of this classic chair design, especially in combination with contemporary tables.Seat shell (14)Other coloursHopsak (28)Other colours2)4)2)1)1)2)2)Seat shell: dyed-through polypropylene. All models (except RAR) are available with a seat cushion (screwed to the seat shell) or full upholstery. The fully upholstered version has moulded polyurethane foam padding covered in Hopsak fabric, attached to the shell with a welted edge. Covers are available in all Hopsak fabric colours. Different shell and upholstery colours and various bases provide a multitude of possible combinations.Options: the Eames Plastic Chair is available as a visitor chair, dining chair, rocking chair, swivel chair or in stacking versions and with ganging brackets for row seating.
Beam-mounted shells are suited for use in waiting areas. Vitra loves Artek Loft Vitra steht für Einrichtungskonzepte, Möbel und Accessoires, die so individuell sind wie die Menschen, die sich damit umgeben. Der Vitra-Online-Shop macht es Ihnen ganz einfach, sich den Wunsch nach den Klassikern des Möbeldesigns und nach innovativen zeitgenössischen Entwürfen zu erfüllen. Auf diesen Seiten finden Sie viele inspirierende Vitra Angebote, langlebig in Material, Konstruktion und Ästhetik – entworfen von führenden Designern wie Charles & Ray Eames, Maarten Van Severen oder Frank O. Gehry. Sie kaufen diese Produkte von Vitra online und in der Gewissheit, dass Sie ein Original erwerben: Willkommen im Vitra-Online-Shop. The Eames Molded Plastic & Fiberglass Armchair is a fiberglass chair, designed by Charles and Ray Eames, that appeared on the market in 1950.[1] The chair was intentionally designed for the ‘International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design.’ This competition, sponsored by the Museum of Modern Art, was motivated by the urgent need in the post-war period for low-cost housing and furnishing designs adaptable to small housing units.
The chair was offered in a variety of colors and bases, such as the “Eiffel Tower” metal base, a wooden base, and a rocker base. The plastic fiberglass armchair is one of the most famous designs of Charles and Ray Eames, and is still popular today. “Getting the most of the best to the greatest number of people for the least”: with these words, Charles and Ray Eames described one of their main goals as furniture designers.[3] Of all their designs, the Plastic Chairs come closest to achieving this ideal. They found that the use of plastic in furniture design has several advantages: it has pleasant tactile qualities, it has malleability and static strength combined with a high-degree of flexibility, and it makes feasible, via mass-production, their goal of low-cost furniture. The early production of the chair The material of the chair, Zenaloy, which is polyester reinforced with fiberglass, was first developed by the US Army during World War II.[4] Using this material, Ray and Charles Eames designed a prototype chair for the 1948 ‘International Competition of Low-Cost Furniture Design’ held by the Museum of Modern Art.
The chairs were made using the latest machines, such as hydraulic press molds from shipbuilding, by manufacturer Zenith Plastics.[4] Mass-producing the molded fiberglass chairs involved a tremendous amount of design and tooling effort, a long period of product development, and considerable investment. The basic technology involved shaping the fiberglass material with metal molds using a hydraulic press. The armchair was the first one-piece plastic chair whose surface was left uncovered and not upholstered.[1] In 1950, Zenith began mass-producing the fiberglass shell armchairs for Herman Miller, who offered them for sale that year. The fiberglass armchair was included in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in 1950. The Vitra company entered the furniture market in 1957 with the licensed production of furniture from the Herman Miller Collection for the European market. In 1984, the partnership that had been formed with Herman Miller was terminated by mutual consent. Subsequently, Vitra obtained the European and Middle Eastern rights to designs by Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson.
At first, the chair was available in three colors: greige, elephant-hide gray, and parchment. The palette of colors was later expanded. After that, a choice of several possible bases was offered. The early “H” metal base (the SAX standard model and the LAX lounge lower model), “X” metal base (the DAX dining model), a lower model with metal rod base (the LAR model), a wooden base (the DSW model), a steel-wire base (the DSR model, also known as the “Eiffel-Tower base”), a cast aluminium base with castors (the PACC model), and a wood-rocker base (the RAR model). All of the bases were attached to the seat using hard rubber disks to allow flexibility. Despite the fact that Herman Miller ceased production of the rocker in 1968 (until they reintroduced it 30 years later), pregnant employees continued to receive these chairs as a company gift until 1984, solidifying the rocker as a token of high-end nursery decor.[7] The plastic shell became available in an upholstered (fabric or vinyl) version a year after the introduction of the chair.
After the success of the arm chair, the side chair (without arms) was introduced (in the DSW, DSX, and DSR models). Over the years, the plastic chair has undergone some modifications: the curve of the back has become more inclined and upholstery is now glued to the plastic shell. The Eames plastic armchair immediately became an iconic design and eventually the chair was used in schools, airports, restaurants, and offices around the world. From 1954, the chairs were used as stadium seating with metal rods put together in rows, the Tandem Shell Seating. The chairs are still in production by Herman Miller, Vitra and Modernica. However, each producer uses different material for their chair. In 1993, Vitra discontinued production of the fiberglass shells for ecological reasons. The company resumed manufacture of the shells in 1989 and 2004, respectively, making them available in polypropylene, a more environmentally friendly material.[8] Also, Herman Miller uses the polypropylene material for their production of the chairs.