eames house reopens in los angeles after wildfire recovery with global foundation launch

eames house reopens with new foundation launch in Los Angeles

After surviving last year’s Palisades Wildfire with only smoke damage (find designboom’s previous coverage here), the Eames House in Los Angeles opens its doors once again following a five-month restoration effort. The reopening marks a new chapter for the landmark Case Study House No. 8, not only for the public access to Charles and Ray Eames’s iconic living and working space, but also for the launch of the new Charles & Ray Eames Foundation. Led by their grandchildren and supported by a broadened board of design world figures, the Foundation aims to preserve and extend the Eames legacy through exhibitions, education, global partnerships, and long-term conservation.

historic studio opens for public programs and creative exchange

For the first time, visitors can step into the adjacent studio, one of the Eameses’ most personal creative environments, now activated as a site for public programming. Here, exhibitions, panel discussions, and workshops will bring new life into the space where much of their philosophy took shape. The reintroduction of the Eames House comes with an eye to the future, both in physical conservation and in how the couple’s expansive creative practice can continue to resonate across generations.

The newly launched Charles & Ray Eames Foundation consolidates and expands earlier preservation efforts into a comprehensive global initiative. It brings together the stewardship of the Eames House with a broader mission to cultivate creative inquiry rooted in the Eames ethos. Backed by founding patron Eames Office and led by Executive Director Adrienne Luce, the Foundation’s work will stretch across research, education, and publication, with a vision to connect institutions, designers, and thinkers worldwide. Its board includes all five Eames grandchildren, alongside new appointees such as Eckart Maise, former Chief Design Officer at Vitra, and Jackie Cassel, a fourth-generation Eames family member.

upcoming projects trace influence across disciplines

At the center of the Charles & Ray Eames Foundation’s vision is a belief in the relevance of the Eameses’ design process in confronting today’s cultural, social, and ecological questions. The Foundation will inaugurate the Charles & Ray Eames Fellowship, a three-year research program, with Catherine Ince, the curator behind The World of Charles and Ray Eames at London’s Barbican, as its first fellow. Her work will culminate in a contemporary study of the designer duo’s impact and methods. Additional initiatives include Eames Architecture (2026), a program highlighting their contribution to prefabricated residential buildings, and a 50th anniversary relaunch of Powers of Ten (2027), the seminal short film that visualized scale in science and life.

A landmark educational project will also see the publication of Charles Eames’s full 1970–71 Norton Lecture series at Harvard, an essential window into the design philosophy of the couple. On the local level, the Foundation is developing education programs for high school students in partnership with AIA Los Angeles and Architecture for Communities Los Angeles (ACLA), while internationally it will reexamine the Eameses’ India Report and legacy in global design education.

Conservation Meets Collaboration

Restoration work on the Eames House itself continues as part of a long-term Conservation Management Plan developed in collaboration with the Getty Conservation Institute. The reopening also reaffirms the site’s role in the wider community, contributing to post-fire rebuilding efforts in the Pacific Palisades. Chris Mottalini’s 2025 photographs capture both the familiarity and fragility of the home, now poised for a new era of public engagement.

Looking ahead, the Foundation will convene the first Eames Conference in Los Angeles in 2026, creating a dedicated forum for scholars, institutions, and the public to share new research and ideas. It will also take a coordinating role across a global network of Eames-related archives and initiatives, including the Library of Congress, the Vitra Design Museum, The Henry Ford, MoMA, and the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity.

‘Charles once said, ”Eventually everything connects,”’ notes Executive Director Adrienne Luce. ‘This profound insight guides our Foundation’s mission: to forge meaningful connections and ignite curiosity across disciplines, cultures, and generations.’

project info:

name: Charles & Ray Eames Foundation | @eamesfoundation

original architects: Charles & Ray Eames

location: Los Angeles, California, USA

foundation chairman: Eames Demetrios | @eamesdemetrios

executive director: Adrienne Luce

supporters: Eames Office | @eamesoffice, Getty Conservation Institute | @gettymuseum

photographer: Chris Mottalini | @chrismottalini

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