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Vitra

Soft Pad Group EA 219

by Charles & Ray Eames, 1969 — from 4.500,00 €
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Soft Pad Group EA 219

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4.500,00 € *
1 x in stock, delivery time 2-3 working days (country of delivery Germany)
3 % advance payment discount*: 4.365,00 € (Save 135,00 €)

Ten years after the creation of the aluminium group Charles and Ray Eames developed the Vitra EA 219 as part of the so-called Soft Pad Group. A further development of the classic aluminium chair, the Eames supplemented the original design with leather cushioning. These ensure on the one hand extra comfort, and on the other increase the representative appearance of these most luxurious of chairs - yet without detracting from the elegance of the Eames Aluminium Chair.

Details

Product type Office swivel chair
Dimensions

(1) Height: 102 - 114 cm
(2) Width: 58 cm
(3) Depth: 57 - 65 cm
(4) Seat height: 41 - 53,5 cm
Colours Cover leather
Nero, Plano nero
Asphalt, Plano dark grey
Chocolate, Plano brown
Marron, Plano brown
Red, Plano poppy red
Sand, Plano mauve grey
Snow, Plano white

Base
Black
Chrome
Polished

Material Upholstery: polyurethane foam
Covers: leather in various qualities and fabric Plano (100% polyester)
Base frame and armrests: Die-cast aluminium, chrome plated, polished or powder coated
Variants Optional soft castors for hard floors or hard castors for carpets

On request available without armrests.
Function & Properties Adjustable back tilt mechanism, lockable in the foremost position
Seat height adjustable via pneumatic spring
Maximum load: 110 kg
Care Fabric:
Dust and lint can be simply vacuumed. To treat stains use a damp cloth and a mild, neutral detergent.
A professional cleaning should be done in the mounted state and with the use of upholstery foam padding or a mobile wash-extraction device.

Leather:
Please maintain and clean the leather according to the enclosed brochure.
Certificates GS certificate for tested safety
Sustainability The Vitra Eames EA 219 is:
85% recyclable
contains up to 65% recycled material

Vitra conform to:
ISO 9001: 2008 (Quality management systems)
ISO 14001: 2004 (Environmental management systems)
Warranty 24 months

Register product and secure extended manufacturer's warranty of 30 years
Product family Alle Eames Soft Pad Chairs
Product datasheet Please click on picture for detailed information (ca. 0,2 MB).
Manufacturing
Video

Popular versions

Soft Pad Group EA 219, Chrome-plated, Leather Standard nero, Plano nero
Soft Pad Group EA 219, Polished, Leather Standard snow, Plano white
Soft Pad Group EA 219, Chrome-plated, Leather Premium F nero, Plano nero
Soft Pad Group EA 219, Aluminium powder-coated deep black, Leather Standard nero, Plano nero
Soft Pad Group EA 219, Polished, Leather Standard nero, Plano nero
Soft Pad Group EA 219, Chrome-plated, Leather Standard sand, Plano mauve grau
Soft Pad Group EA 219, Polished, Leather Premium F marron, Plano brown
Soft Pad Group EA 219, Chrome-plated, Leather Standard snow, Plano white
Soft Pad Group EA 219, Chrome-plated, Leather standard asphalt, Plano dark grey
Soft Pad Group EA 219, Polished, Leather standard asphalt, Plano dark grey
Soft Pad Group EA 219, Chrome-plated, Leather Standard red, Plano poppy red
Soft Pad Group EA 219, Polished, Leather Standard marron, Plano brown
Soft Pad Group EA 219, Polished, Leather Standard red, Plano poppy red
Soft Pad Group EA 219, Chrome-plated, Leather Standard marron, Plano brown
Soft Pad Group EA 219, Polished, Leather Standard sand, Plano mauve grau
Soft Pad Group EA 219, Chrome-plated, Leather Standard chocolate, Plano brown
Soft Pad Group EA 219, Polished, Leather Standard chocolate, Plano brown
Soft Pad Group EA 219, Chrome-plated, Leather Premium F marron, Plano brown
Soft Pad Group EA 219, Aluminium powder-coated deep black, Leather Premium F nero, Plano nero
Soft Pad Group EA 219, Polished, Leather Premium F sand, Plano mauve grey

FAQ

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Should the answers to your questions not be found here, our service team can be contacted Mon-Fri, 9 am - 5 pm via +49 341 2222 88 22.

Does the EA 219 come with a warranty from the manufacturer?

Vitra offers a warranty of 30 years on all parts of the Aluminium Chair and Soft Pad models not normally liable to mechanical wear.

Can the EA 219 covers be changed?

With the Aluminium Chair and Soft Pad groups only the complete seat can be replaced, re-covering is not possible. Such a replacement must be undertaken by Vitra trained technicians.

How much weight can an Eames EA 219 support?

The chairs are tested to 110 kg. If the user is heavier, the wear and tear on the chair increases. However not only the user's weight plays an important role in the wear on the chair, the sitting habits and the way in which the user sits into and stands up from the chair are also important. Certain actions such as, for example, leaning heavily in the armrest when standing up can lead to high localized stress concentrations which may be greater than the burden of a "static seated" very heavy user.

Design Story

The Design

Ten years after the launch of the Eames Aluminium Chairs Ray and Charles Eames developed the series further in the form of the Soft Pad Group: the designers enhancing the familiar shape of the slim aluminium chairs with leather upholstery. The leather upholstery bestows these Eames office chair with added comfort, yet without reducing the elegant look of the Vitra chairs. To the typical stretched membrane of the aluminium chair leather pads have been sewn - one on the seat, three on the back. Overall, the appearance of the Eames Soft Pad Chairs is more structured than the the Eames aluminium chairs and therefore allows a more representative, yet unobtrusive aesthetic. A combination which in many ways also defines the special character of the Eames Lounge Chair. The Vitra EA 219 has a five-star base with castors and is height adjustable via a pneumatic spring. With its high back the EA 219 Soft Pad Chair is clearly the most dominant of this particular Eames chair series.

Production

The production of the Eames Soft Pad Group in Europe is undertaken by Vitra. The company, based in Birsfelden Switzerland and the Weil am Rhein Germany, possesses the exclusive licenses for the manufacture of Eames designs for Europe. The soft pad chairs were launched in the USA by Herman Miller in 1969 and have been part of the Vitra range since the same year. The side sections, flexible metal elements, armrests and feet from Vitra EA 219 are made of die-cast aluminium, which is available either chrome plated or polished. Aluminium with its combination of high load capacity, light weight and good formability is the ideal material for the reduced, ergonomic Eames chair design. All Vitra Eames soft pad chairs come with a 30-year warranty: a promise of quality behind that stands behind Vitra's experience in the manufacturing of Charles and Ray Eames timeless and durable furniture designs.

The EA 219 Soft Pad Chair in the Vita Dark Chrome Edition, 2013

Ray and Charles Eames

Manufacturer

The EA 219 soft pad chair and the other Eames designs have been manufactured since 1957 under license by Vitra. Based in Birsfelden, Switzerland Vitra possess the exclusive rights to manufacture Eames design in Europe and the Middle East. Fittingly, as the history of Vitra effectively begins with an Eames chair: on a trip to New York in 1953 company founder Willi Fehlbaum spotted an Eames chair in a shop window and set about acquiring production licences. In addition, the design philosophy of Charles and Ray Eames continues to significantly influence the values and direction of the company. As an expression of the close cooperation between Eames and Vitra the estate of the designers passed into the possession of Vitra upon Ray Eames death; an archive which now serves as the basis for regular exhibitions on Charles and Ray Eames design canon. In addition to producing furniture design classics by designers such as Verner Panton, Jean Prouvé and of course Charles & Ray Eames Vitra are also responsible for the success of young, contemporary designers like Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Hella Jongerius or Antonio Citterio.

Designer

The Vitra EA 219 was designed byCharles and Ray Eames. Charles Eames was born in 1907 in St. Louis, Missouri and studied architecture at Washington University. Bernice Ray Kaiser was born in Sacramento, California in 1912 and studied art in New York under the German abstractionist Hans Hofmann. The two met in 1940 at the Cranbrook Academy of Art when Ray worked as an assistant for Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen. In 1941 the pair married and moved to Los Angeles where they established their Eames Studio, the source of innumerate furniture design, architecture, interior design, exhibition design, film and photography projects. Although the oeuvre of Charles and Ray Eames is often largely considered the work of Charles Eames, Ray Eames' contribution was every bit as important and defining.

Historical Context

The 1960s in Europe and America are largely considered a period of economic miracle. General prosperity led to a pronounced consumer mentality and finally to a stage of commercial saturation, a situation delightfully reflected in the elegant design of Charles and Ray Eames 1969 soft pad chair collection. As a representative executive chair, the EA 219 not only fitted perfectly into the image of prosperous society but gifted it a stylish status symbol. But perhaps most importantly, the soft pad group stood in contrast to general movements in design of the period. With the new possibilities of the day, for all those offered by plastics, designers were increasingly undertaking formal experiments whose aim was not necessarily about creating well-proportioned "beautiful" objects, but often questioned traditional ideas and set out to break conventions. Charles and Ray Eames, however, remained ever faithful in their designs, and always created objects for their form - are not any current trend.

Charles and Ray Eames

More about 'Soft Pad Chair' in our blog

Eames launch soft Pad - Hope to repeat succes of aluminium Chairs

Zeeland, Michigan, 1969 Ten years ago Charles and Ray Eames revolutionised the world of chair design with their "aluminium Chair" range. And now they hope to do it again. In one of the most eagerly anticipated announcements of the year, Charles and Ray Eames...

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