Charles and Ray Eames are best known for their furniture, their films and the Eames House in Pacific Palisades. An icon of Modern architecture open to all, Case Study House No. 8, its contents, and the surrounding landscape, have been preserved much as they were when Charles and Ray lived there.
Yet between 1945 and the mid-1950s, the pair pursued an ambitious investigation into prefabricated, modular architecture. From a proposed house for filmmaker Billy Wilder to experiments in low-cost timber construction, they developed eight residential projects. Together, their residential projects explored how Modern homes could be economical, adaptable and generous frameworks for living.
Introducing the book The Eames Houses (Phaidon, 2026), Eckart Maise and Eames Demetrios will share archival drawings, photographs, correspondence and newly made models that bring the lesser-known projects into view while also offering new insights into the iconic ones.
With only three of the houses built, what became of the Eameses’ larger ambition? That question has taken on new urgency through a partnership with Spanish manufacturer Kettal. Maise and Demetrios will introduce the Eames Pavilion System and reveal how ideas developed more than 75 years ago are finally being translated into an adaptable building system available to all.
Eckart Maise is the author of The Eames Houses and President of the Charles & Ray Eames Foundation. Eames Demetrios is a grandson of Charles and Ray Eames and Director of the Eames Office.
A book signing will follow the presentation. Visit eamesfoundation.org and follow @EamesFoundation.
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