Welcome

This is the blog of Nikolas Xie, ARC 308 student, unique number 00570. I have complied the blog to list every per-requisite listed in the Scavenger Hunt in order of how it is listed on the assignment instructions to ensure every item is clearly listed and not lost. I hope you enjoy this blog as much as I enjoyed researching and learning about this awesome and fascinating house!

Uncovering the Basic Facts

The Eames House

Location: Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, CA

Architect: Charles Eames and Alexandra "Ray" Eames

Date of Construction: Designed in 1945. Completed in 1949

Number of Buildings on Site: 2. The first building is the Eames House, which is where the occupants were meant to live. The second building is the Eames House Studio, where the occupants were meant to work.

Number of Floors: 2. Both buildings had two floors.

Source: eamesfoundation.org

Identifying the Purpose, Program, and Users

The Eames House originated from architecture magazine publisher John Entenza's building program: the Case Study House Program. This program involved architects from all over the United States designing and building modern, American homes for hypothetical or real clients using "materials and techniques derived from the experiences of the Second World War," thus the house's program is residential.

The purpose of the homes were to express a certain lifestyle and aesthetic that reflected their client's profile; in the instance of the Eames House, it was designed for a professional husband and wife duo who specialized in graphic arts and design. The Eames House specifically called for two separate buildings where the occupants could live and work. Both structures would be built out of steel and glass, and would incorporate the natural environment around the house instead of destroying it to make room. Though the Eames' initial profile for the home reflected a made-up couple, this fictional profile actually fit the Eames themselves, and so they ended up moving into the house due to their attachment to the house and its meadow environment during the years of its construction.

Source: eamesfoundation.org

Eames House Exteriors

Eames House Exterior

 The exterior of the Eames House showcases its box shape and many windows. The house boasts an impressive awning at its entrance, and the many windows allow for natural light to easily illuminate the house. The house is situated in a suburban neighborhood, but the house itself is somewhat isolated by a forest that the Eames tried their best to preserve during construction. Though it can not be seen from this angle, the house is on a cliff that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. Both the main house and the studio are built out of predominantly steel and glass.

Eames House Studio Back Entrance

The Eames House Studio is a separate building where inhabitants could work projects. After the Eames moved in they utilized this space as their own personal studio. The studio's design and scale is very similar to the main house, albeit the studio is slightly smaller regarding length. The studio is separated from the main house via a small courtyard.

Sources: archdaily.com & eamesfoundation.org

Architectural Drawings of the Eames House

Section of the Eames House (top). Blueprint Layout of the Eames House and the Eames House Studio (bottom)

Rough sketch of the Eames House and the Eames House Studio

My Drawing of the Eames House

My interpretation of the Eames House involves a side profile of both the house itself and the studio. I tried to capture the unique steel patterns and glass windows that adorn the side of the buildings. The disproportionate color scheme and slightly-asymmetrical designs are reminiscent of Piet Mondrian's painting Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow.

Profile of the Eames House Residence

Piet Mondrian's Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow (for reference)

Eames House Interior

Eames House Living Room

The room portrayed is the living room for the Eames House Residence. The living room is the first room that visitors would walk into when entering the house. Interesting note: the chair on the left is the patented "Eames Chair," which was also designed by Charles and Ray Eames.

The Eames House in Google Earth

The Eames House from Google Earth

The Eames House is located on the map where the A marker is. If one looks closely enough, one would notice the green around the marker representing the meadow and the forest that surrounds the house. It is also clear that the Eames House sits on a cliff, and that the highway and the Pacific Ocean are clearly visible.

Interview With Lucia Eames

Lucia Eames

Pictured above is Lucia Eames, the only child of Charles and Ray and the founder of the Eames Foundation. In 2005, an interview with Lucia about the preservation of the Eames House and its legacy was published in Metropolis magazine. Below are some highlights from the interview.

"The preservation of the house and studio is clearly a huge issue, but what about moving the foundation forward in the future?"

"Its not enough to focus on the past. We have to make Charles and Ray's work relevant to future generations. The house will always give a feel for their approach. It's very tangible, almost primary source material. There's a wonderful quote from Charles about making connections, where he talks about 'the details, the details, the details,' Well, that's true. But their work was also about the joy and rigor between work and play. That's another primary source. An exhibition like Mathematica presents information not to make it beautiful but to make new connections that are so carefully researched that an expert would feel, 'Mmm, yes, that's right' and a young, bright child would think, 'Ahh!'"

"Once the foundation is in place, will you make the house and studio more open to the public?"

"On the fiftieth anniversary of the house we had seminars here, and it worked out well. It was no more than ten people, but it provided a different kind of experience, I also think it could serve as a benefit for someone willing to help with the foundation. I really hope that in the first ten years of the foundation, the companies and people we work with will tell success stories about how such nd such a product line came out of time spent at the Eames studio. There's someone about this place that's so much about the built environment and the natural world... Preservation is great, but if you're not doing something that contributes to the future, if you're only looking backwards, then you're not honoring the ideas behind the house.

Source: "At Home With Lucia" by Paul Makovsky from Metropolis Jan 2005

Video of the Eames House

This video was features many of the finer details of the Eames House, as well as much of its unique furnishings.

I observed from this building that the house was certainly one of a kind. While its exterior resembles a very simple, modern house; the interior is extremely colorful, diverse, and fascinating. The Eames House features many artifacts and trinkets from various cultures. One could infer that the Eames had a strong admiration for other cultures, which explains all of their interesting furnishings.

Flickr Cache of the Eames House

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dannywills/sets/72157600512078366/

The Flickr Cache was created by photographer Danny Wills. Wills' photos primarily depict the exteriors of both the residence and the studio, showcasing in beautiful detail all of the polygonal and symmetrical aspects of the Eames House. However, one thing that Wills focused on which I appreciated was the environment around the Eames House. Most photos of the Eames House focus on the house itself, but Wills' pictures clearly show off the landscape and nature that surrounds Eames House. The majestic beauty of the forest shown here demonstrates firsthand why Charles and Ray fell in love with the land back in the 40s. As beautiful as the house is, the gorgeous landscape around the house is certainly underrated and deserves to be recognized.

An Interesting Website

http://stylizimoblog.com/eames-house/

The blog, "stylizimoblog.com," featured the Eames House in a post in 2013. Blogger Nina Holst also featured several impressive photos of certain aspects of the house such as the garden and shots looking through the windows. As beautiful as these photos are, one interesting fact that Holst brings up is that the house is perfectly preserved. This meaning that almost every piece of furniture was originally a part of the house when the Eames were residing there. I found this to be extremely fascinating, as it turns this house into essentially museum. One would think that since the house is from half a century ago it would be a time capsule, but judging from the photos, the house and its furnishings appear very contemporary and timeless.

Source: sylizimoblog.com

Three Interesting Facts

In 1998, Beatriz Colomina penned an article in Blueprint magazine arguing that the Eames House "signals the start of a new-all American architecture." Colomina's article covers Charles and Ray, and how their relationship helped contribute to the house's unique style.

1) Part of the house's fun personality comes from the personalities of Charles and Ray themselves. The Eames defined architecture as an "ongoing theatrical spectacle of everyday life, understood as an exercise in restrictions rather than self-expression." Colomina focuses on Charles and Ray's love for dressing up, and that their sense of style helped contribute to the house's overall design.

2) The Eames House was built only a few years after the end of World War II, which during the war "domestic life could no longer be taken for granted." Charles and Ray understood this well, which is why they designed the Eames House to portray a "form of art therapy for a traumatized nation." Every design decision, from the exterior structure, to the interior furnishings, and even the landscape around the house reflects this.

3) Many of the artifacts and much of the furniture inside of the Eames House showcase different cultures and beliefs. This is because Charles and Ray felt a deep sense of appreciation for the outside world. The collection of so many unusually different artifacts being displayed together Colomina calls the "Eames aesthetic." Although one would think this would result in an ugly amalgamate of trinkets, Colomina states that "seeing the culturally disparate together," is actually "a kind of wide-eyed wonder."

Source: "Reflection on the Eames House" by Beatriz Colomina from Blueprint Sept 1998

Bibliography

Colomina, Beatriz. "Reflections on the Eames House." Blueprint (1998): 41-45. Print.

Eamesfoundation.org. Eames Foundation, n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2016.

Makovsky, Paul. "The Eames Experience." Metropolis (2005): 67-73. Print.

Perez, Adelyn. "AD Classics: Eames House/Charles and Ray Eames." Archdaily.com. ArchDaily, 28 June 2010. Web. 9 Feb. 2016.

Stylizimo. Stylizimo by Emmeselle, 18 Mar. 2013. Web. 9 Feb. 2016.