EC121 Adjustable Stool Swivel with 1730 Arm Shell

In 1968, the Eameses introduced a new drafting stool base—evolving away from the form introduced in 1957 to incorporate the new Universal base which had been introduced with the Intermediate Chair. The design still features a circular footrest, but here it has been detached from the four-bladed base to cantilever directly off of the stool’s column allowing the inclusion of a standardized Universal base below. While the Eameses rarely used paint on their designs, they chose to paint the base stems of their newer drafting chairs in Reverse Hammer Tone Dusky Silver, a paint typically found on industrial machinery, presumably for its durability and resistance to chips or rust. This new drafting chair base was also available with a variety of fiberglass seats—in this case, it was paired with an upholstered La Fonda arm shell. Named after the New York City restaurant La Fonda Del Sol, for which it was initially created, the lower profile La Fonda shell came about thanks to a request from the restaurant’s designer Alexander Girard, who tasked the Eameses with creating a seat with a low back that would not protrude above the table tops. This example comes from the Eames Office at 901 Washington Boulevard.