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It was only natural really, that some of the best furniture designs in history would turn out to be good to work with. Many of the Eames Chair designs were never originally intended to be for the office at all but some ended up defining everything what a work chair should be.
One of the greatest examples, perhaps in furniture history, of a design transitioning and morphing for the needs of the marketplace, almost certainly lies with the Alu Group. From the drawing board in 1957 came a design of polished Aluminum and patented stretched ribbed leather look seating (later leather too). It was undoubtedly visually appealing and a clear step away from the bleak low-cost nature of plywood and fiberglass that had previously defined the Eames portfolio. But what many may not realize is that the Alu Group was indented for lounging, to be used indoor and outdoor too. Fast forward a decade or two and it had changed into becoming one of the most recognizable office-based chairs on the planet. Add a range of finishes, castors, lifts and reclines and suddenly, a work chair of immense versatility was born.
With its array of bases and flexibility, it would come as no surprise that the Eames Plastic chair in molded fiberglass would also find a place in the work environment. Once the commercially appealing PAC base (and later Universal base) had been added to the range, the use of floor glides or castors would open up a whole new way in which these chairs could be utilized. Add in adjustability and height control, as you would expect to find on a traditional office chair, and a functional work chair was made. Go further and add wonderful upholstery choices in a magnitude of varying options and the mere work chair was transformed into something a lot more interesting. It broke tradition, added color and flexibility as well as comfort and gadgets one would expect to have.
Draftsman’s stools, secretary chairs and even an extra new line of soft pads for the Alu Group would all be added to the ever increasing range of commercially biased products that Herman Miller would produce through the mid to latter twentieth century.
