Charles Eames

Charles attended Yeatman High School and developed an early interest in architecture and photography.

Many sources claim that he was dismissed for his advocacy of Frank Lloyd Wright and his interest in modern architects.

[1] Other sources, less frequently cited, note that while a student, Charles Eames was also employed as an architect at the firm of Trueblood and Graf.

At the elder Saarinen's invitation, Charles moved in 1938 with his wife Catherine and daughter Lucia to Michigan to further study architecture at the Cranbrook Academy of Art.

In order to apply for the Architecture and Urban Planning Program, Eames defined an area of focus—the St. Louis waterfront.

Eames and Saarinen's work displayed the new technique of wood molding (originally developed by Alvar Aalto) that Charles would further develop with Ray in many moulded plywood products, including chairs and other furniture, and splints and stretchers for the US Navy during World War II.

[4] In Popular Culture The long running BBC Television Programme "Mastermind" features an iconic Black Chair which was designed by Charles Eames.

Three years after arriving in Los Angeles, Charles and Ray were asked to participate in the Case Study House Program, a housing program sponsored by Arts & Architecture magazine in the hopes of showcasing examples of economically priced modern homes that utilized wartime and industrial materials.

John Entenza, the owner and editor of Arts & Architecture magazine, recognized the importance of Charles and Ray's thinking and design practices—alongside becoming a close friend of the couple.

Charles and Ray spent many days and nights on-site in the meadow picnicking, shooting arrows, and socializing with family, friends, and coworkers.

They chose not to build the Bridge House and instead reconfigured the materials to create two separate structures nestled into the property's hillside.

Eero Saarinen had no part in this second draft of the Eames House; it was a full collaboration between Charles and Ray.

Charles Eames died of a heart attack on August 21, 1978, while on a consulting trip in his native Saint Louis.

And as we attack these problems—and I hope and I expect that the total amount of energy used in this world is going to go from high to medium to a little bit lower—the banana leaf idea might have a great part in it.