Eames LCW Chair by Charles and Ray Eames for Vitra. The Eames LCW was hailed as greatest design of the twentieth century by Time magazine in its 1999 millennial issue. The name derives from the initials for Lounge Chair Wood. The origins of the LCW lie in Charles and Ray Eames's experimentations with wood-moulding techniques of the 1940s. Their work in this field resulted in a commission from the US Navy to develop plywood splints, stretchers and glider fuselages for the war effort. Having perfected the technique of moulding of plywood under heat and pressure, once the war ended they applied this technology to the affordable, high-quality, mass-produced furniture. Although they originally sought to design a chair with a single shell made of moulded plywood, the material proved incapable of withstanding the stresses at the junction of the chair back and seat. The distinctive form of the LCW evolved in response to this constraint, with separate moulded ply panels for seat and back linked by a moulded ply armature. Herman Miller has the sole license for the Charles and Ray Eames collection in the U.S. and the Far East. Therefore the export of these products from the UK to the U.S. is not possible. For more information please contact Herman Miller.
