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RAR Eames Plastic Armchair

RAR Eames Plastic Armchair

Name: RAR Eames Plastic Armchair
Brand: Vitra
SKU: 6601
Price: 690 GBP
Availability: PreOrder

Code:

6601

From £690.00

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Description

RAR Eames Plastic Armchair RE - now made from recycled plastic. Plastic Armchairs were first presented as part of the famed New York Museum of Modern Art competition, "Low Cost Furniture Design". Their organically shaped seat shells made of fibreglass-reinforced plastic were later combined with various different bases, such as RAR's rockers and manufactured in their millions. In their latest version made of polypropylene the Armchairs now offer even greater sitting comfort.

Specifications

W: 625 x D: 690 x SH: 330 H: 670 mm

As of January 2024, Eames plastic chair shells are manufactured by Vitra from post-consumer recycled plastic (see below). Due to the composition of the recycled material, the different colour variations of the seat shells are interspersed with tiny specks of pigment.

Steel rod base, chromed or powder-coated basic dark (white also available, contact the store)

Wooden rockers in dark stained maple or golden stained maple

Also available with seat pad or shell upholstery

Delivery & Returns

Please see our Deliveries & Returns page for more information.

Available stock is usually delivered within 7 days.

For further information or support, please call us in store on 020 7557 7557, alternatively please email us at [email protected]

'Getting the most of the best to the greatest number of people for the least': with these words, Charles and Ray Eames described one of their main goals as furniture designers. None of their other designs come as close to achieving this ideal as the Plastic Chairs. For years, the designer couple explored the fundamental idea of a one-piece seat shell moulded to fit the contours of the human body. After experiments with plywood and sheet aluminium in the 1940s produce unsatisfactory results, their search for alternative materials led them to glass-fibre reinforced polyester resin.

The Eameses recognised and fully exploited the advantages of the material: mouldability, rigidity, pleasant tactile qualities, suitability for industrial manufacturing methods. With this material, which was previously unknown in the furniture industry, they successfully developed the shell designs for serial production. After their debut at the 'Low-Cost Furniture Design' competition organised by the Museum of Modern Art in 1948, the Plastic Armchair (A-shell) and Plastic Side Chair (S-shell) were launched on the market in 1950 as the very first mass-produced plastic chairs in the history of furniture.

The Eames Plastic Chairs also introduced a new furniture typology that has since become widespread: the multifunctional chair whose shell can be joined with a variety of different bases to serve diverse purposes. As early as 1950, Charles and Ray Eames presented a series of bases that enabled various sitting positions. An especially striking model is the so-called Eiffel Tower base – an intricate and graceful design made of steel wire that inimitably combines light, elegant forms with structural strength.

In 2016, Vitra added roughly 20 mm to the base height of the Eames Plastic Chairs DSX, DAX, DSR, DAR, DSW and DAW while adapting the seat geometry accordingly. These revisions, which are aesthetically almost imperceptible, increase the comfort of this classic chair design, especially in combination with contemporary tables.

Materials are of utmost importance to Vitra, as their sourcing, processing and use in products account for around 80% of the company's carbon footprint. That is why they should be as sustainable and have as little environmental impact as possible. One way to achieve this goal is recycling: waste is thus kept in the cycle as a valuable raw material and reused to manufacture durable products.

From January 2024, all seat shells of the Eames Plastic Chairs by Vitra are made from post-consumer recycled plastic. The recycled material for the shells of the Eames Plastic Chairs RE comes from German household waste collected in the 'Der Gelbe Sack' (Yellow Bag) system and primarily from used packaging. Using this recyclate in place of the previous primary plastic results in fewer climate-damaging emissions and consumes less energy. Due to the composition of the recycled material, the different colour variations of the seat shells are interspersed with tiny specks of pigment.

RAR Eames Plastic Armchair

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