ECS [EAMES CONTRACT STORAGE]

The Herman Miller Furniture Company, Special Products Division and the Office of Charles & Ray Eames

7.25 x 7.25 brochure that unfolds to a 21.75 x 21.75 poster for the revolutionary Eames Contract Storage Units. Uncredited graphic design and photography from the Eames Office.

Excerpted from Neuhart, Neuhar, and Eames: EAMES DESIGN: THE WORK OF THE OFFICE OF CHARLES AND RAY EAMES [New York: Abrams 1989]: "Eames Contract Storage Units were designed to replace most of the furniture needed in a dormitory or other institutional residence. ECS, as it was called, included space for sleeping, working or studying, and storage. The self-contained system was designed to be a comfortable, organized, and durable living arrangement for students. ECS had five parts -- three closets, a desk unit, and a folding bed -- any combination of which could be purchased from the Herman Miller Furniture Company. The units were delivered as a knock down item, ready to be bolted on two standard Unistrut sections mounted horizontally on a wall at the top and bottom of the unit . . . ".

"The storage closets came fully outfitted with wire shelves and drawers, coat hooks, towel bars, and lights. The sleeping mattress rested on a pivoting counterbalanced birch slab, which when closed matched the solid-core birch doors of the closets. The only area left open was the desk, which was provided with a built-in light, backboard, and filing cabinet. The detailing of the system was extensive; door handles were made of polished cast aluminum, extruded aluminum strips formed continuous hinges at the sides of each unit, and the fir plywood partitions had a black phenolic plastic coating embossed with a gridlike design to resist scratches and dents . . . ."

"Herman Miller began marketing the system in 1961, and it was installed in dormitories on college campuses . . . . Though the system had great potential as a dormitory solution, federal support for such facilities at educational institutions was halted, and as more students began living off-campus in the 1960s, the need for new dorms declined drastically. As a result, sales declined and ECS was discontinued in 1969."

Unmarked but from the library of A. Quincy Jones and Elaine K. Sewell Jones. Mrs. Jones worked as a publicist for Herman Miller and handled public relations for T&O, the short-lived Textiles & Objects Shop in New York City. The Shop was a Herman Miller store that showcased Alexander Girard fabrics, as well as objects Girard found on his international travels. Mr. Jones was an architect renowned for his work in the Case Study program, as well as his lengthy association with Joseph Eichler.

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