ABSTRACT
The house stands at the end of a boulevard lined by eucalyptus trees; behind it, far below, is the ocean. Seen from the side, its dark outline is reminiscent of a traditional Japanese house-despite the diagonal wind bracing and the redblue-yellow-white opaque panels on the façade, which recall a Mondrian painting. The original intention of its creator, the designer and architect Charles Eames, was that the house would be raised on a substructure so that its residents could enjoy the panoramic view of the ocean. But when the construction elements were delivered, he became intrigued by the idea of putting them to better use and creating the most spacious building possible. He came up with a new design in which these steel components were used to the very last piece. Instead of being designed on the drawing board, the structural elements were selected, in pre-fabricated form, from a catalogue. This self-imposed limitation of standardized components produced, as a consequence, a bold composition of smooth surfaces; the simplicity of the plain components, and their completely natural combination gave the Eames House a freshness and liveliness that it has preserved to the present day. Not least due to the way it was created, the house occupies a special place in the history of architectural design.
