Eames House Conservation Project

Book excerpt: In this multi-author volume, six chapters cover the investigations undertaken by the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) and its consultants between 2011 and 2016 at the Eames House. Including analysis of paint stratigraphies, pigments, and organic binders; in situ paint investigation of the exterior steelwork of the house and studio; wood panel investigation and conservation treatment; environmental assessment; geotechnical evaluation; and a landscape survey and assessment, this publication supplies technical guidance for immediate conservation needs and long-term maintenance of the house. Numerous testing and investigation techniques were used, demonstrating the wide range of approaches to conservation that are available to others charged with maintaining a building from the modern era. A preface and introduction set the investigations in context of the overall goals of the Eames House Conservation Project and the Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative (CMAI). The GCI began working with the Charles and Ray Eames House Preservation Foundation (Eames Foundation) on the Eames House Conservation Project in 2011, which was catalyzed by the removal of the house's living room furniture for an exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). This provided a unique opportunity to address the wear and tear on the house and was the first field project under the CMAI, which seeks to advance the practice of conserving twentieth-century heritage.