The Eames House

Nowadays, Modern Architecture has become a style that is synonymous with shock value. Architects aim to surprise, astonish, and stun the world with their wild designs. Although interesting, nouveau "Modern" architecture seems to be getting further and further away from its roots. The movement began with the elimination of superfluous architectural adornment and moved toward a focus on function. Architects like Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Phillip Johnson were pioneers of this school of thought and spawned a fascination with efficiency in domestic design. This idea, paired with post-war growth in the United States, led to a boom in design for the masses that was exemplified by The Case Study House Program.
The Case Study House Program was put together by Arts & Architecture Magazine as design consortium to construct model homes to be built exclusively with off-the-shelf materials. The return of thousands of Veterans after World War Two was the catalyst for the plan and pushed designers to think about how to build homes with inexpensive materials without sacrificing beauty. The magazine asked a handful of notable architects to design homes for certain locations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Arizona, and New Jersey. From the impressive list of names one couple certainly stands out: Charles and Ray Eames.
Charles and Ray are most known for their eponymous furniture pieces such as the Eames Lounger. The couple agreed to collaborate with the Case Study House Program to design one of five houses on the Case Study House Bluff. The Eames House became the most famous of the quintette of structures and is the only house that is open to the public today. Originally, Charles collaborated with Eero Saarinen to design the home to be cantilevered over the meadow that the existing structure sits parallel to. The plan evolved after Charles and Ray decided against removing the row of Eucalyptus trees that separate the hillside from the meadow.
The change in plans shifted the house to its current location nestled between the row of grand Eucalyptus trees and the carved out hillside. They installed a large retaining wall and created a small open courtyard between the house and a separate design studio. This plan kept the large meadow in tact while still allowing for uninhibited views of the Santa Monica Bay just beyond.
When you first look at the exterior of the Eames House, you would think that Charles and Ray were inspired by a Mondrian painting. The squares of primary colors bordered with black metal are Mondrian-esque, but this assumption is not supported by any factual research. The exterior is a midcentury jigsaw puzzle that cleanly incorporates the functional parts of the design into the aesthetic scheme. My favorite portion of the exterior is a panel that is made of a photograph of the tree line of the property. The photograph has faded over the years, but the ghostly outline of the trees is a beautiful reminder of how Charles and Ray integrated their home into nature.
The interior of the house resembles the inside of a huge shipping container with white corrugated metal walls and steel beams. The Eames' decorated the home with pieces from their travels around the world. Middle Eastern textiles and African tribal masks are juxtaposed with original Eames furniture pieces to create a breathtaking curated look. The interiors remain almost exactly how they were the day Ray Eames died, yet they still look current. A full interior tour of the home was not in my budget, but my good friend who works for the Foundation took me inside the Studio building. The Studio interior is filled with original Eames furniture pieces and other trinkets owned by the couple. Standing in the space helped me understand the design concept of the property in full and brought yet another smile to my face.
The Eames House is a testament to the California lifestyle that is alive and well today. The importance of indoor-outdoor living alongside the use of low cost materials began a revolution in home design on the West Coast. The Eames House, along with the other Case Study Houses, were at the helm of this revolution that changed the composition of the American house. Even if you don't enjoy Midcentury Modern aesthetics, you have to admit that this little house on the bluff changed, not just Modern Architecture, but Architecture in general.
If you're in the L.A. area and are intrigued by the Eames story, head over to their website to arrange a tour.
Cheers,
Hugh