In 1960, Charles and Ray Eames were commissioned to furnish three lobbies in the Time & Life Building at Rockefeller Center in New York City. These rooms had a decisively informal character and were used both as reception and waiting rooms during office hours and as break rooms for employees in the evening. Describing the work on this project, Ray often spoke of the challenge of making these pieces work as both stools and side tables: deep enough to sit in, but flat enough for a coffee cup. The stools are the only design that the Eameses ever made of solid blocks of wood. Aesthetically they mirror Charles and Ray Eames’ fascination with traditional arts and crafts. The homely effect of these small furniture items, which are also reminiscent of chess pieces, is heightened by the warm quality of the walnut used in their execution. Of the several different versions designed, each with a different middle section, four would later be serially produced. While the prototypes were turned from a single wood block, the serial models consist of three components.
Text: Mathias Remmele
