Charles Eames, who died at the age of 71 in 1978 in Saint Louis, his hometown, is one of the major figures in the design of the 20th century, which he evolved into mass production. Architect and designer (1907-1978), he was head of the design department at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. In 1940, with Eero Saarinen, he won the first prize in the New York Museum of Modern Art's "Organic Design in Home Furnishings" competition, presenting an innovative molded plywood seat: the plywood is shaped in two The upper part of the seat and the seat are in one piece, forming a shell. This very technical project marks a new direction of furniture, but not yet production series.

Charles Eames and his wife Ray go to Los Angeles, where they continue their technical research on plywood molding. An order from the US Navy encouraged them to develop molded plywood splints and stretchers produced by the Evans Products Company of Los Angeles in 1943. Between 1942 and 1946 they developed a series of molded plywood seats , Such as the DCW and DCM chairs in 1946 for the Evans Products Company. The furniture company Herman Miller hired Charles Eames as a design consultant in 1946, then entered into an exclusive contract. The same year, an exhibition is dedicated to him at the Museum of Modern Art of New York. Charles Eames is more concerned with the technical aspect of design and research on materials than with the aesthetic aspect. He offers a seat with a fiberglass-reinforced polyester shell, with which he obtained the second prize in the Low Cost Furniture contest in 1948 in the seat category, and a welded steel armchair, the Wire Chair in 1951.

His partnership with Herman Miller continued with the Aluminum Group in 1958, a collection of great finesse. Their Lounge Chair has been marketed to more than 6 million units since its inception in 1956, while the Aluminum Chair (which initiated the Aluminum Group in 1958) and the swivel chair with its 1969 Soft Pad footrest Continues to attract design enthusiasts.

Some dates :

• 1938-1940: Charles Eames teaches at the Cranbrook Academy of Art and works with Eero Saarinen
• 1942: Development of molded plywood medical gutters for the US Navy.
• 1946: Exhibition at the MOMA "New Furniture Design by Charles Eames"
• 1950: Storage furniture Eames (ESU)

Showroom and graphic editions for Herman Miller

• 1951: Wire Chair
• 1954: Sofa Compact
• 1964: Exhibition IBM Pavilion
• 1968: Armchair Billy Wilder