The Eames La Chaise

A floating figure for conversation, rest and play

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The La Chaise lounge chair dates back to 1948, when it was developed for the ‘International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design’ organised by MoMA. The name is a playful reference to artist Gaston Lachaise, whose Floating Figure sculpture was a source of inspiration for the Eameses.

At the Eames Office the chair was viewed as a piece of functional furniture for conversation, rest and play, but due to its massive sculptural form it turned out to be too complicated for mass production.
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La Chaise’s unusual and distinctive form is testament to Ray’s training as a painter and her love of organic shapes. It is conceived as a one or two-seater, with the smooth and tactile curves of the white lacquered shell allowing for a range of comfortable sitting positions.
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La Chaise’s striking organic silhouette could easily be mistaken for an abstract sculpture rather than a piece of seating furniture. Recognised as a symbol of organic design, the softly undulating shell has a relaxed appearance and invites the viewer to take physical possession of it and explore the multiple manners in which the body can recline. Resembling a free-standing work of art, La Chaise is made up of three distinct components: the shell is mounted on five chrome-plated steel rods, which are anchored in a cruciform oak base.
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La Chaise has been produced exclusively by Vitra since 1990.

Publication date: 07.09.2023
Author: Stine Liv Buur
Images: 1-6: © Eames Office, LLC 2023; 7: Staged at the Eames House, Pacific Palisades, California © Eames Foundation, 2023 © Vitra / Photo: Florian Böhm (Studio AKFB) / Eames House © Eames Foundation, 2023

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