Eames House Research & Writing Sample

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Case Study House #8:

An instrument for Life

Renee Langley Salai

Arch 556

Anthony Fontenot

March 2, 2016

"Charles and Ray were the 'hypothetical' clients of the Case Study House #8: a working couple with no children living at home. ... They needed space for living and for working."1 "The house must make no insistent demands for itself, but rather aid as background for life in work. This house - in its free relation to the ground, the trees, the sea - with constant proximity to the whole vast order of nature acts as a re-orientator and shock absorber..."2 Once construction was completed around Christmastime1949, the Eames moved into the house and found the house so much to their liking, they lived there the rest of their lives. The idea that the house would serve as both a home and a workplace was the most important aspect of the design to the Eames. The Eames led a very unique life influenced by their interest and work in various forms of art and design. When they worked, they were playing and experimenting and thus they were always working. This gave them a one of kind lifestyle that needed a home that was centered around their work, as it was their life. The Eames House was not only a product of this unique lifestyle, but an instrument for it; an instrument that served as a tool, a catalyst, and an object for play in the creation of their designs and creative works.

The collaboration of Charles and Ray Eames is what makes this project one of a kind. “The house expresses the complementary skills of its makers: Charles’s love of order and process, Ray’s of color, texture, and pattern.”3 Charles, an architect, and Ray, an artist, came together to create a house that would foster and provide for their singular lifestyle. "Ray Eames supported this premise when questioned as to whether she had moved from painting to design with any reluctance. The way I saw painting was in terms of structure and color. Charles as an architect saw things in terms of structure and so there was no real difference in the way we both saw design, although we had trained in 'different' areas.' 'I never gave up painting, I just changed my palette.'"4 Together they created so much more than just architecture. In fact, they are mostly known for their furniture designs. They were highly creative people who delighted in making things, any things. “For Eames, everything was architecture, from the setting of a table for breakfast to a circus performance. Everybody was a designer.“5 The Eames' often worked in various mediums from art, film making, product design, and even toy making. For them, drawing on their various experiences in their designs was natural and the only way they knew how to work. “Charles Eames is a natural California Man, using his native resources and know-how -of the film-making, the aircraft and the advertising industries – as others drink water; [in a way] that is almost without thinking.“6 These vast experiences and interests, gave the Eames a distinct perspective from other designers which led to the creation of case study house #8 and “established a synergetic background for the Eames’ unique lifestyle.”7

Since its development as a part of the Arts and Architecture magazine case study house program, the Eames House has been reviewed by many critics. The project was very well received in its time and continues to lead architectural discussion today due to the original nature of the project. Reyner Banham said, "For most Europeans – and some Africans, Australians, and Japanese to whom I have spoken – the Case Study era began around Christmas 1949. By that time the magazine Arts & Architecture had achieved a sufficient degree of penetration into specialized bookstores and architectural libraries for the impact of the first steel-frame Case Study houses to trigger – as British architect Peter Smithson said – “a wholly different kind of conversation.“8 Case study house #8, was the first case study house to gain international attention due to its unique kit of parts design. "Postmodern architect Charles Moore explained the appeal of the Eames aesthetic for subsequent architects: 'Eames was the first American after the war who was taut and neat. Singlehanded, he brought back richness - he was the first to pull back in the wonderful things from everywhere which made the spartan framework acceptable to us."9 He sees the case study house as a project that has reflected on these international ideas and made them their own in a unique way. Similarly, Peter and Alison Smithson noted that, "Somehow through Mies, through a rejection of Mies, or so it seems to me, we get the 1949 house - something wholly original, wholly American."10 The Smithsons were friends of the Eames and admirers of their work. They even dedicated an entire issue of Architectural Design to the Eames where they wrote "There has been much reflection in England on the Eames House. For the Eames House was a cultural gift parcel received here at a particularly useful time. The bright wrapper has made most people - Especially Americans - throw the content away as not sustaining. But we have been brooding on it - working on it - feeding for it."11 For the Smithsons, the Eames House was radical experiment in structure. While the house may look like a Mies van der Rohe modernist house, it was built from prefabricated components in a matter of days. It was architecture, but it was architecture not in the traditional sense.12 As soon as case study house #8 was published, architects and critics began to recognize how special this house was. It was a modern house, but not the high modern of Mies and Le Corbusier. This was a playful, experimental type of modern that had not been seen before.

The uniqueness of the Eames house comes from the design of the house as an instrument, or tool, used by the couple to experiment with materials and design ideas. The design approach for the house focused on the structure and was constructed from "off the shelf" steel parts that were left exposed allowing for an open interior space.13 These off the shelf steel parts were then covered with off the shelf panels and windows applied with Ray's deft hand in art and arrangement. “The Eames house is poetry expressed through with high tech vocabulary.”14 The off the shelf steel construction allowed the Eames a simple frame that provided ample space inside to work while making the house affordable as a prototypical house design. While the modest structure could be called sparse, the arrangement of those parts made it rich. “Designed by its owners, [the house] is at once an intensely personal statement and a pioneering adventure in merging technology and art. Despite its spareness and economy, it provides a subtle richness of pattern, color, and texture, and a sense of unity of nature which have successfully withstood the test of time.“15 For the Eames, the structure itself was not as important as the space created inside which became their workshop. The Eames imaged the prefabricated parts of the house could be rearranged and reconfigured over time. In fact, between the time the materials were ordered and delivered, Charles completely redesigned the house using the same parts.16 He saw the prefabricated parts as an opportunity to encourage use of space beyond the simple requirements of living.17 The Eames believed that anyone could produce a good solution, especially if there were restrictions, if they applied their full attention. Charles often recalled designing sets for MGM in one night with limited props.18 Perhaps the genius of the Eames house is a product of this restricted redesign. The Eames saw their house more as a work space for their life than a house. "In the early 1960s Ray said, 'The structure long ago ceased to exist. I am not aware of it.'"19 The house became a backdrop, a starting point, for their work within. Their experimentation with the kit of parts and reconfigurable design developed throughout their career and became a signature of their design aesthetic. “This idea of design as the rearrangement of a limited kit of parts was constant in their work. Everything they produced could be rearranged; no layout was ever fixed.”20 The Eames later designed several furniture pieces that were adaptable and reconfigurable resembling the design of case study house #8.

The case study house #8 also served as an instrument by way of being a catalyst for the Eames' creative work. The house was a place that fostered and provided for design experimentation. "A brief written for the living room that specified 'pure enjoyment of space in which objects can be placed and taken away' became a lifelong pursuit for Ray and Charles, who used the objects collected from their travels, films, and exhibitions to create an ever-changing spatial collage in their home. Art was assembled, displayed, and constantly rearranged all through the interior spaces, including the ceiling, where paintings were hung as well as a piece of commemorative tumbleweed collected on their honeymoon trip across the country."21 They filled the house with curated objects they collected from all over the world for inspiration and used the house as their experimentation lab for their work. “In the 30 years they shared the house, every corner was filled with colorful objects from around the world, with prototypes, and with props from their films. Both were inveterate collectors; Ray was a masterly arranger.”22 In this sense, the Eames used the house as a museum for their collections. They learned something from these objects and they ways they arranged them. By changing their location or the arrangement of the objects, the Eames found ideas for their art and designs. The house was always a workplace, but not a workplace in the conventional sense. Collecting and experimenting were the way the Eames worked. They liked to be surrounded by their work at all times, as they were always working. When asked how they managed their work and personal life, Charles replied, "Our personal lives and our working lives were combined every day. There really wasn't any separate personal life."23 They were one in the same, their work was their life and their life was their work. This intertwined relationship of their work life and everyday life lead to their unique housing needs. “...the Eameses always preferred to keep spaces of the house open, the signs of living and enjoyment evident.“24 The Eames believed that an idea could come at anytime from anywhere, so they liked to be able to see everything they were working on as they moved through their house/workshop. While the house served as a place to house their collections, the house itself was a catalyst for design through their experimentation with the kit of parts and the facade panels. Living in case study house #8 gave the Eames the open ended inspiration they needed to create their masterpieces.

The house was also an instrument in the sense that it was a thing to be played or played with. The Eames were exceptional in this way. They worked by playing and because of this, the Eames were always working. Charles said, "We worked very hard at that-enjoying ourselves. We didn't let anything interfere with what we were doing-our hard work. That in itself was a great pleasure."25 It is said that when one loves their work they never work a day, and the Eames truly lived this way. Charles and Ray used the expression, "take your pleasure seriously."26 They saw their work, not as work, but as play and anything and everything could be their toys. The house itself was a toy that could be rearranged at any time to suit the needs of their experiments within. More than that, it was an idea, an experiment in of itself which made designing and building the house play. A completely new type of house for a completely new type of life. “The Eames liked to celebrate things. Anything. Everything. This was not just whimsy, a distraction from work. It was part of work itself. Walking along the beam of the house under construction was the beginning of the occupation of the house. They were literally moving in, even if the crafting of the basic fabric of the building would take almost a year. The house became an endless process of celebration over the course of their lives.“27 For the Eames, playing with toys led them to new artistic discoveries and ways of thinking about design. They then celebrated these discoveries by implementing them into their work. When asked about their obsession with toys, Charles Eames said "Toys are not as innocent as they look. Toys and games are the preludes to serious ideas."28 Case study house #8 was the biggest toy they ever designed. The simple frame was clad with movable panels that the Eames could play with and experiment with. Inside those walls, the Eames designed an open playground where they could work/play with their collections and arrangements as they created their art and designs.

Case study house #8, was designed by and for the incredibly unique couple, Charles and Ray Eames. Their exceptional lifestyle led to the unique program and plan of the house which served as an instrument for that lifestyle Specifically, the house was a tool, a catalyst, and an object for play which aided in the work and design development of the Eames throughout their life. "The Eames house has certainly fulfilled Ray and Charles Eames's dream of creating a functional yet familial living space. Combining high-tech building elements and colorful, irregular forms of crafts and collectibles, the Eameses promoted the fortuitous coexistence of work, play, and the activities of daily living."29 The Eames set out to create a house that would be tailored to their exact needs and ended up creating a house that has international influence that continues even today. The Eames house could not have been design by any other designers or for any other residents. The Eames were an extraordinary couple who fed off of each other's imagination and loved to create together, so much so, that they built their entire life around the art of making. It was the Eames unique live/work relationship and the way they worked through play that produced this house as an instrument for their extraordinary life.

Notes

1. Eames Demetrios, An Eames Primer (New York: Universe Publishing, 2001), 135.

2. Gloria Koenig, Charles & Ray Eames 1907-1978, 1912-1988: Pioneers of Mid-Century Modernism (Los Angeles: Taschen, 2005) 35.

3. Michael Web, Architects House Themselves: Breaking New Ground (Hong Kong: Palace Press International, 1984) 34.

4. Lucinda Kaukas Havenhand, "American Abstract Art and the Interior Design of Ray and Charles Eames", Journal of interior design v.31 n.2 (2006): 28-42. accessed March 1, 2016, doi: AB.J8345/ 582657

5. Beatriz Colomina, "Reflections on the Eames House" in The Work of Charles and Ray Eames: A Legacy of Invention (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1997) 129.

6. Colomina, "Reflections on the Eames House," 143.

7. Koenig, Charles & Ray Eames, 39.

8. Colomina, "Reflections on the Eames House," 136.

9. Michael Web, Architects House Themselves, 35.

10. Colomina, "Reflections on the Eames House," 127.

11. Colomina, "Reflections on the Eames House," 138.

12. Colomina, "Reflections on the Eames House," 138.

13. Ray Eames, John Neuhart, and Marilyn Neuhart, Eames Design: The Work of the Office of Charles and Ray Eames (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1989) 111.

14. Amelia Jones and Elizabeth A. T. Smith, "The Thirty-Six Case Study Projects" in Blueprints for Modern Living: History and Legacy of the Case Study Houses, edited by Elizabeth A. T. Smith, 41-82. (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1989) 52.

15. Ray Eames, John Neuhart, and Marilyn Neuhart, Eames Design: The Work of the Office of Charles and Ray Eames, 112.

16. Eames, An Eames Primer, 136.

17. Esther McCoy, Case Study Houses 1945-1962 (Los Angeles: Hennessey & Ingalls,Inc., 1962), 57

18. Colomina, "Reflections on the Eames House," 129.

19. Michael Web, Architects House Themselves, 32.

20. Colomina, "Reflections on the Eames House," 129.

21. Koenig, Charles & Ray Eames, 38-39.

22. Michael Web, Architects House Themselves, 34.

23. Eames Demetrios, An Eames Primer, 122.

24. Amelia Jones and Elizabeth A. T. Smith, "The Thirty-Six Case Study Projects", 52.

25. Eames Demetrios, An Eames Primer, 122.

26. Eames Demetrios, An Eames Primer, 122.

27. Colomina, "Reflections on the Eames House," 127.

28. Eames Demetrios, An Eames Primer, 121.

29. Amelia Jones and Elizabeth A. T. Smith, "The Thirty-Six Case Study Projects", 52.

Bibliography

Colomina, Beatriz, "Reflections on the Eames House" in The Work of Charles and Ray Eames: A Legacy of Invention. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1997.

Eames Demetrios, An Eames Primer. New York: Universe Publishing, 2001.

Eames, Ray, John Neuhart, and Marilyn Neuhart, Eames Design: The Work of the Office of Charles and Ray Eames. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1989.

Havenhand, Lucinda Kaukas, "American Abstract Art and the Interior Design of Ray and Charles Eames", Journal of interior design v.31 n.2 (2006): 28-42. Accessed March 1, 2016, doi: AB.J8345/ 582657

Jones, Amelia, and Elizabeth A. T. Smith, "The Thirty-Six Case Study Projects" in Blueprints for Modern Living: History and Legacy of the Case Study Houses, edited by Elizabeth A. T. Smith, 41-82. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1989.

Koenig, Gloria, Charles & Ray Eames 1907-197, 1912-1988: Pioneers of Mid-Century Modernism, Los Angeles: Taschen, 2005.

McCoy, Esther, "Arts & Architecture Case Study Houses" in Blueprints for Modern Living: History and Legacy of the Case Study Houses, edited by Elizabeth A. T. Smith, 15-82. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1989.

McCoy, Esther, Case Study Houses 1945-1962, Los Angeles: Hennessey & Ingalls, Inc., 1962.

Web, Michael, Architects House Themselves: Breaking New Ground, Hong Kong: Palace Press International, 1984.

*I NO NOT OWN THE IMAGES IN THE PRESENTATION