Eames Office

1941 - Charles Eames and Ray Kaiser are married and move to California. They work in the art department at MGM film studios. They begin experimenting with shaping plywood.
1942 - they open their own development company together with John Entenza, Harry Bertoia, and others. They design splints made from molded plywood for the U.S. Navy.
1944 - Charles and Ray Eames establish the Molded Plywood Division at Evans Product Company.
1945 - intense work on furniture development, molding, shaping, and gluing rubber cushions. Development and production of tools for shaping plywood. Don Albinson joins the group.
1946 - Consulting designer at Herman Miller. First "One Man Show" at the Museum of Modern Art.
1947 - designs a folding dining table. First design of the Santa Monica House, a cube on steel supports hovering over a meadow.
1948 - first attempt with fiberglass-reinforced plastic. Final design of the house in Santa Monica using prefabricated panels for industrial buildings.
1949 - Herman Miller begins serial production of laminate plastic chairs in collaboration with Eero Saarinen, a house for John Estenza is built.
1950 - design and installation of the "Good Design Show" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Designs a house for Billy Wilder. Creates the first films "Travelling Boys," "Black Tops," and "Parades." Miller produces ESU - Eames Storage Units.
1951 - awarded the first medal from the National Industrial Designers Institute for the plastic chair. The design of "The Toys," a cardboard construction set for children, is created, along with a design for a wire chair.
1952 - films "Communication" and "Bread." Designs the puzzle "House of Cards" and the toys "Little Toys."
1953 - First upholstered chairs made of laminate. In collaboration with Nelson, an audiovisual seminar on communication for universities in Georgia and Los Angeles is created. Basic design education for architects at the University of Berkeley. Film "A Communications Primer."
1954 - Received Diploma di Medaglie d'Oro at the triennale in Milan. Films "Black Tops" and "Parades" receive awards at the International Film Festival in Edinburgh. Production of Sofa Compact. As part of a cultural exchange, he is a guest in West Germany.
1955 - Films "Two Baroque Churches in Germany," "House after Five Years Living," "Textiles and Ornamental Arts of India." Herman Miller begins serial production of stackable laminate chairs, Fibreglass chair.
1956 - Herman Miller begins production of the Lounge Chair and Ottoman. Receives an award for modern design. Charles guest lectures at several American universities.
1957 - Awarded the Diploma di Gran Premio for the Lounge Chair at the 11th triennale in Milan. Creates "Solar Toy" and "do nothing machine" for an aluminum processor. The film "Toccata for Toy Trains" receives recognition at the International Film Festival in Edinburgh. Completion of the film "Day of the Dead" about All Saints' Day in Mexico. He is awarded a gold medal for craftsmanship and hand skills during the celebration of the centenary of the American School of Architects.
1958 - Design of renowned Aluminium Group chairs. Official trip to India at the invitation of the government. Consultant for the restoration of the National Design Institute in Ahmedabad. Awards for "Day of the Death" and "The Information Machine" - a film made for the World Expo in Brussels (sponsored by IBM). Creates films: "The Expanding Airport," "Herman Miller Brussels," and "De Gaulle Sketch."
1959 - lectures at the Royal College of Art and the Royal Institute of British Architects in London. Multi-screen film "Glimpses of the U.S.A." as a presentation of the USA. Exhibition at the World Expo in Moscow. "20th Century Design Show" at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
1960 - Design of Lobby Chair, tables, and chairs for La Fonda del Sol restaurant in New York. Receives "First Annual Kaufmann International Design Award." Member of the Royal College of Art and Royal Designer for Industry. Creates various short television films under the collective title "Fabulous Fifties" for C.B.S.
1961 - development of ECS (Eames Contract Storage). Designs the "Mathematica" exhibition (IBM) for the California Museum of Science and Industry, Los Angeles. Receives various awards for short films, including during the international film week in Mannheim, where five short films premiered.
1962 - develops Tandem Swing Seating, first used at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago and Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. Designs emblems for Herman Miller. Earns a doctorate from California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. Designs the seating for cinemas and produces the multi-screen film "House of Science," shown at the world exhibition in Seattle; sponsored by the American government.
1963 - designs Conference Hall Seating. Receives further awards for short films at film festivals in London and Melbourne.
1964 - works for the American Institute of Architects in New York, receives an award for the IBM pavilion at the World's Fair in New York, which he created in collaboration with Eero Saarinen and others, earns a doctorate from Pratt Institute, New York. Creates a film about electronically controlled puppet theater for the World Expo. Designs a segmented table.
1965-66 - Charles receives the President's Honorary Medal of the Art Directors Club, New York. Designs the exhibition "Nehru, his life and his India," sponsored by the Indian government and held at the National Design Institute in Ahmedabad, later continuing in New York, Washington, and Los Angeles. Creates a film about the work related to the exhibition "Nehru."
1967 - receives the Architectural Award Grand Prix from the American Institute of Architects, Los Angeles. Designs a plaque for the Society of Industrial Artists and Designers in England.
1968 - designs the exhibition "Photography and the City" for the Smithsonian Institute, Washington D.C. Designs a chair for director Billy Wilder.
1969 - designs the Soft Pad Group. Complements the Aluminium Group with a new base in modified sizes.
1970 - Charles receives an honorary doctorate from the University of Washington. He is nominated to the National Council of the Arts.
1971 - designs Loose Cushion Chairs. Organizes the exhibition "A Computer Perspective" for the exhibition company IBM in New York.
1972 - designs the Executive Oval Table. Receives a medal for artistic-industrial work from AIA. Charles becomes a member of the Board of Visitors of the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Architecture and Urban Planning. Prepares exhibitions at the Exhibition Centre, New York, including one about Copernicus on the occasion of his 500th anniversary.
1973 - prepares further exhibitions for IBM at the Exhibition Centre, New York, such as "The Shoulders of Giants: Brahe, Kepler, Descartes and Galileo" and a further exhibition on Isaac Newton.
1974 - participates in a recital of the Penrose Memorial before the American Philosophical Society. He is elected to the board of the Associated Councils on the Arts. The Eames couple receives public honors from AIA.
1975 - receives the Elsie de Wolfe award from the American Institute of Interior Designers.
1976 - prepares the exhibition "Frank Jefferson" for the 200th anniversary of the founding of the USA, which was held in six museums worldwide.
1977 - creates the films "Daumier, Paris and The Spectator" and "Degas." He earned a doctorate in classical philosophy at Michigan State University and industrial design at Art Centre College of Design, Pasadena.
1978 - creates a film about Cézanne. Charles is awarded the "25 Years Prize" from AIA for his house. Charles Eames unexpectedly passes away in August in his hometown of St. Louis.
1979 - Eames Office received the English Royal Gold Medal for Architecture, in recognition of outstanding achievements in architecture and furniture design, as well as for communication through media such as film, graphics, and exhibitions.
1977-81 - major exhibition "Connectors". The work of Charles and Ray Eames is exhibited in museums in the USA and Europe.
1982 - Ray Eames completes the Soft Pad Sofa in collaboration with Vitra - this was Charles Eames' last design.
1988 - Ray Eames passes away.
1985-86 - Vitra acquires exclusive rights to the Eames collection for Europe and the Middle East.
1989 - first production series of Eames Chaise (design 1948)
1999 - Eames Plastic Chair, reissue of the legendary Fibreglass Chair with a new material, polypropylene.