Cast Spreader 2

A key conceptual feature of the Eames Aluminum Group is the pair of aluminum spreaders that hold the upholstery taut between two aluminum side members. These spreaders create the necessary tension for transforming fabric into a supportive seat and backrest. Dubbed “antlers” by the Eames Office staff thanks to their distinctive shape, one spreader is located midway up the chair’s back and doubles as a handle. The other is located underneath the seat and serves both to stretch the textile and to attach the body of the chair to its base. Attaching a handle to the back of a chair made the already lightweight designs even easier to move around a home, reception lobby, or any other venue in which the chair might be used. When considered in light of the fact that the collection was initially called the Indoor-Outdoor Group, this attention to movability suggests that the Eameses may have envisioned the chairs as not only suited to both indoor and outdoor use, but perhaps even as multi-purpose pieces that could be relocated from living room to patio and back again.