Enter the Eameses' Pacific Palisades home, and experience their palpable presence.
In 2025, the Charles & Ray Eames Foundation was announced, marking a significant step forward in preserving and advancing the design legacy of the renowned Eameses. This non-profit organisation, built upon decades of preservation efforts by the Eames family, aims to secure the holistic vision of design held by Charles and Ray Eames, extending beyond furniture to architecture, film, exhibitions, and design as a cultural and educational tool [1].
The foundation's mission is threefold: to preserve the iconic Eames House, promote the Eameses' multidisciplinary works and philosophies, and broaden public understanding of design by placing Charles and Ray Eames at the forefront of conversations about innovation and creativity [1].
Key initiatives include the preservation of the Eames House, an iconic example of Midcentury Modern residential architecture designed by the couple. The house has undergone cleaning, electrical updates, and landscape redesign to aid fire resistance and bring it closer to the original design [2]. In 2026, the foundation will organise the Eames Architecture initiative, focusing on their contributions to prefabricated residential buildings [1].
The foundation also supports exhibitions, films, and projects that reflect the Eameses' commitment to design as a public and educational tool. One such project is the Metropolitan Overview, which envisioned museum experiences as emotionally and intellectually engaging spaces [3][4].
The board of directors includes Eames Demetrios as chairman, Byron Atwood as president, Carla Atwood Hartman and Llisa Demetrios as board members, and Jackie Cassel, a fourth-generation Eames family member [2]. Adrienne Luce, appointed as the inaugural executive director, emphasises that the foundation's work aligns with one of the most important parts of the Eameses' legacy: empathy and humanity [2].
The foundation benefits from a collaborative board, including family members and experts, which helps maintain authenticity while opening to outside perspectives, ensuring the legacy is both preserved and dynamically advanced [1]. Eckart Maise, a long-term collaborator of the Eames family, is the first non-family member to join the board [2].
The Eames House, due to reopen this month, is considered the most cohesive example of the couple's vision across all disciplines they touched [2]. Visitors can expect new events and experiences, including those who may not be Eames enthusiasts [2].
The foundation's work is particularly relevant during a time when cultural institutions in the US face multiple challenges and destructive legislation [2]. The Eameses' grandchildren, through their roles in the foundation, continue to represent and advocate for the optimism and diplomacy for which the Eameses stood [1].
One of the foundation's upcoming projects is the reintroduction of the film Powers of Ten, which was first released in 1977, to coincide with its 50th anniversary in 2027 [2]. The film, which incrementally zooms out from a scene on Earth to the wider universe, and then back in all the way down to atomic particles, embodies the Eameses' vision of connecting everything [1].
Charles Eames' words, "everything does eventually connect," remain pertinent in the context of the foundation's work, as they strive to preserve and advance the Eameses' innovative and humanistic vision of design for future generations [1].
References: [1] The Charles & Ray Eames Foundation. (2025). About Us. Retrieved from https://eamesfoundation.org/about-us/ [2] The Charles & Ray Eames Foundation. (2025). Press Release: The Charles & Ray Eames Foundation Announces Its Inaugural Board of Directors. Retrieved from https://eamesfoundation.org/press-release-the-charles-ray-eames-foundation-announces-its-inaugural-board-of-directors/ [3] The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (n.d.). Metropolitan Overview. Retrieved from https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/metropolitan-overview [4] The Charles & Ray Eames Foundation. (2025). Projects. Retrieved from https://eamesfoundation.org/projects/
The foundation's work encompasses both lifestyle and home-and-garden, as it plans to reopen the iconic Eames House, serving as an example of Midcentury Modern residential architecture, following its renovation [2]. Additionally, the Eames Foundation's Eames Architecture initiative will focus on the Eameses' contributions to prefabricated residential buildings in 2026 [1].
