Remastered for today’s work and workers Lean, light, and responsiveas your own shadow Fewer parts, less material, and stilleverything a good chair should be Support you can see and feel Learn how original co-designer Don Chadwick and Herman Miller remastered the Aeron Chair. Made up of just six elements, the Plex family flexes on demand. Hear how Embody supports the research of ophthalmic neurobiologist Budd Tucker.IN 1950, after a decade of experiments, Charles and Ray Eames introduced a chair that looked and performed like no other. It was lightweight, flexible, comfortable and affordable—and all because it was plastic. In the past decade alone, some 500,000 Eames Molded Plastic Chairs have been sold globally, fulfilling Charles Eames’s ambition to make “the best for the most for the least.” (The price of the classic currently starts at $319.) Originally made of a fiberglass-reinforced polyester resin used for World War II shock helmets, the Eames chair was produced until 1989, when Herman Miller, the chair’s manufacturer for North America, discontinued it because of the material’s health threat to factory workers.
In 2000, the chair was brought back in polypropylene, which bore no risk and had the advantage of being recyclable. In 2014, Herman Miller released a safe, recyclable fiberglass version. Few chairs are more versatile: The collection includes models with and without arms in a variety of colors, with bases of wood or metal that sit squarely or rock. Or more influential: The Eames classic has seen many offspring over the years, and the category continues to thrive. Among the descendants shown at the international furniture fair in Milan in April were chairs by Jasper Morrison, for the American company Emeco; Alfredo Häberli, for the Italian company Alias; and Simon Legald, for the Danish company Normann Copenhagen. The market for plastic chairs is insatiable, interior designers say, because of their many virtues. you can wipe them. You can put them in any room,” said New York-based Vicente Wolf, whose clients have included Twyla Tharp, Egon von Furstenberg and Clive Davis. The protean material can be easily contoured for comfort or visual drama, Mr. Wolf added, and he appreciates the color range.
He is partial to bright, sinuous Panton chairs, which are effectively $310 pieces of sculpture. Ghislaine Viñas, a fellow New York designer known for colorful interiors, said a plastic chair “is hip, it’s not precious, and if you’re tired of it inside, you can move it outside.” Ms. Viñas also noted that world-class designers frequently create the chairs, so if you want relatively inexpensive furniture by, say, Ron Arad or Philippe Starck, here’s your chance. She singled out Mr. Arad’s Tom Vac chair ($455) and Mr. Starck’s Toy chair ($972 for four) among her favorites. The price range for molded plastic chairs is considerable, from less than $10 for a patio chair at Home Depot to almost $1,500 for Neri&Hu’s new Sedan chair for ClassiCon. What sets them apart? $128 for two Championed by: Brian Patrick Flynn, a television producer and interior designer. “There’s something to be said about a versatile, durable chair with classic, modern lines that’s certain to withstand the test of time,” he said.
How it compares to the classic: The visual inspiration is more Arne Jacobsen than Charles and Ray Eames, but the design still telegraphs midcentury modern. Value proposition: You can arrange four around the dining table for the price of a single Eames chair. Born: 2012, for German schoolchildren. Mr. Grcic designed PRO after research found fidgeting helps learning. Restless students can sit sideways or straddle the back. Championed by: The Design Museum in London, which named it 2014 Design of the Year in the fashion category. (It beat Prada’s spring/summer collection.) How it compares to the classic: A conceptual departure. Eames chairs were meant to be so comfy you wouldn’t squirm. But the Eameses understood kids and might have approved. Value proposition: PRO is lightweight, which reduces shipping costs. Flötotto, +49- 5241-9405-542 Born: 2010, with later editions. Mr. Morrison named the chair after the homicidal supercomputer in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 “2001: A Space Odyssey” because he liked the film’s “incredible set design.”
Championed by: The architecture studios SANAA and Imrey Culbert, which put it in the café of their glass-block Louvre-Lens Museum, in France. How it compares to the classic: Even more versatile. Fifteen different bases support diverse models—armchairs, barstools, rolling desk chairs, etc. Value proposition: Mr. Morrison plus Vitra equals design and production rigor—a lot of quality for your money. Vitra, 212-463-5750 Born: 2014. The name alludes to the fins connecting the seat and base. Neuland, the German studio that designed Sharky, also did a commodious chair called Elephant. Championed by: The German Design Council, which named it winner of the 2015 Interior Innovation Award. How it compares to the classic: Fancier. A lacquered polyurethane seat shell is coupled with a base of solid beech, solid oak or aluminum. Kvadrat fabric upholstery is an option. Value proposition: Luxe materials and killer looks don’t come cheap. Inspired by the human-powered conveyance favored by the wealthy, Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, in Shanghai, separated the polyurethane foam shell from the solid-wood support so the seat looks suspended.
The lounge version of Sedan was designed in 2013 for one of Neri&Hu’s hospitality projects. How it compares to the classic: More elitist. The name and price tell you this isn’t a populist piece. Value proposition: If it stands up to the traffic in a hotel restaurant, it will definitely wear well in your dining room. More in Design & Decorating Lessons From Artists on Hanging Art Move Over, Eames: Reissued Furniture Classics Are Stealing the Spotlight The Search for the Ideal Shelves Lessons from Garden Designer Edmund Hollander’s Own Unassuming Oasis Why Children Need PlayhousesEames Plastic Chairs - ein Stück Designgeschichte Charles & Ray Eames zählen zu den bedeutendsten Persönlichkeiten des Designs im 20. Ihr Werk war sehr vielseitig, sie haben Möbel entworfen, Filme gedreht, fotografiert, Ausstellungen konzipiert und ihr eigenes Haus auf damals bahnbrechende Weise geplant und realisiert. Vitra produziert und vertreibt ihre Möbelentwürfe seit 1957, zunächst in Lizenz.
1984 übernahm Vitra die exklusiven Rechte an allen Eames-Produkten für Europa und den Mittleren Osten. Damit ist Vitra der einzige legitimierte Hersteller in diesem Teil der Welt. Die Marke Vitra gibt Ihnen somit auch die Sicherheit, ein Original-Produkt von Charles & Ray Eames zu besitzen. Die Idee von Charles & Ray Eames war, einen komfortablen Sitz mit unterschiedlichen Untergestellen zu kombinieren, um damit ein möglichst breites Einsatzspektrum für ihren Stuhl zu erreichen: der Eames Chair passt in die Wohnung, in Cafés, Büros, Wartezonen, Schulungsbereiche, etc. Der Eames Plastic Side Chair ist die Re-Edition des legendären Fiberglass Chair. Er basiert auf dem Entwurf von 1950 und war der erste industriell gefertigte Stuhl aus Kunststoff. 1993 stellte Vitra die Produktion aus ökologischen Gründen ein (Fiberglass ist nicht recyclingfähig). Durch die Fortschritte in Technik und Material ist es jetzt möglich, den Eames Plastic Side Chair aus Polypropylen in seiner Originalform wieder anzubieten.