Eames Aluminum Group Lounge Chair

The Eames Aluminum Group Collection (1958) began as a special project for Eero Saarinen and Alexander Girard, who needed seating for a home they were designing for industrialist J. Irwin Miller in Columbus, Indiana. The pair asked the Eameses to design light, mobile leisure chairs. At the time, Charles and Ray were exploring ways to use aluminum, which had been strengthened, refined and made more affordable since WWII. So, they constructed a lightweight, die-cast aluminum frame and set a sling in it – a “sitting pocket,” as they called it, which subtly conformed to the body’s shape. This completely new type of seat marked a departure from the idea of a chair as solid shell.