Eames Shell Chair

These chairs are credited as the first use of plastics for domestic seating. Designed by material masterminds Ray and Charles Eames, the plastic bodies of these chairs were developed with the Zenith Plastic Company. They were constructed from an adapted material that the company had used during the war to make fiberglass-reinforced plastic radar domes.  

The metal bars seen on the legs here were used to attach the chairs to each other to create connected, theatre-type seating. The chair was available with six different bases, including wooden legs, metal rod legs, a wire strut base made from cast aluminum, a pedestal base, a swivel style, and a rocker version. The shell chair became an Eames icon and could be found in schools, restaurants, airports, museums, and other public spaces all over the world.