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Lounge Chair Metal

Influenced by nature, and technological advances in bending plywood and metal, the LCM was designed to create a shell that would ergonomically fit the sitter’s body, eschewing the need for upholstery.

DESIGNERS | Charles and Ray Eames, 1946

Lounge Chair Wood

H: 26.5″
W: 22″
D: 24.5″

The Eames Lounge Chair Metal (LCM) (also known as Lounge Chair with Metal Legs, or Eames Plywood Lounge Chair) is a low seated easy chair designed by husband and wife team Charles and Ray Eames.   Influenced by nature, and technological advances in bending plywood and metal, the LCM was designed to create a shell that would ergonomically fit the sitter’s body, eschewing the need for upholstery. Additionally, they wanted to create furniture that was attractive, comfortable, affordable and easy to manufacture.

There were significant challenges in the attempt to create a chair from a The LCM design has inspired many modern design ideas for furniture and the application of molding the wood into two concaving pieces and connecting them in a way to create a chair.

The chair was designed using technology for molding plywood that the Eames developed before and during the Second World War. Before American involvement in the war, Charles Eames and his friend, architect Eero Saarinen, entered a furniture group into the Museum of Modern Art’s “Organic Design in Home Furnishings Competition” in 1940, a contest exploring the natural evolution of furniture in response to the rapidly changing world. Eames & Saarinen won the competition. However, production of the chairs was postponed due to production difficulties, and then by the United States’ entry into WWII. Saarinen left the project due to frustration with production.

Charles and Ray Eames

Charles Eames and his wife Ray Kaiser Eames are considered among the most influential pairs of designers in the 20th Century. Not long after they were married, they began experimenting with just how far would is material could be manipulated. Experimenting with a variety of wood molding techniques, they made several discoveries that lead to a commission from the U.S. Navy to develop plywood splints, stretchers, and glider shelves. They moved to Venice Beach, CA in 1941. Charles took a job as a set painter for MGM Studios to support them. Ray, formally trained as a painter and sculptor, continued experiments with molded plywood designs in the spare room of their apartment. In 1942 Charles left MGM to begin making molded plywood splints for the United States Navy. The splints used compound curves to mimic the shape of the human leg. The experience of shaping plywood into compound curves contributed significantly to the development of the LCM.

Lounge Chair Wood | c.1946

Manufacturer

Original: Herman Miller | USA
Current: Herman Miller | USA

Build

Dimensions: 22″W x 24.5″D x 26.5″H
Material: moulded plywood seat and back, steel legs