Known as the “Indoor Outdoor Group” when it premiered in 1958, the Eames Aluminum Group marks another triumph for the Eameses in their quest to use common materials—in this case aluminum—in uncommon ways. Already on its way to becoming ubiquitous in postwar America, aluminum posed a major challenge in terms of form. The Eames Office eventually arrived at a design calling for a fabric seat slung between two aluminum Ls, themselves held in tension by two cross-braces (referred to as “antlers” by the designers).
Created after Alexander Girard, noting a dearth of viable outdoor furnishings for the J. Irwin Miller house project, turned to his friends Charles and Ray Eames in 1957, the Aluminum Group Chair in its earliest incarnation had a polyester saran covering (developed with Girard’s textiles division at Herman Miller). This was used so the chair could weather the elements outdoors. Updated with a new, state-of-the-art material—Outdoor Weave fabric—the Group has returned to its original premise as indoor and outdoor furniture, adding a graceful profile everywhere people work, play, and live.
