Eames House Reopens Post-L.A. Wildfires, Family Announces New Foundation and Fire Resilience Efforts

It was a close call for the Pacific Palisades, Calif., home of legendary American designers Charles and Ray Eames. After five months of closure due to smoke damage from the Palisades fires, the Eames House has finally reopened to the public, representatives of the Eames family told WWD on Friday.

The 1.4-acre site sits adjacent to a meadow of eucalyptus trees just north of Santa Monica. Its materials, interior collections and landscaping are maintained as they were during Charles’ and Ray’s lifetimes; all three elements tell the story of the couple’s life and work, which includes the famous galaxy pendant lamp and their iconic Eames chair.

The home, which was completed in 1949, was spared from the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year, but sustained considerable smoke damage. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2007. The midcentury modern landmark known as Case Study House No. 8 has undergone a meticulous process of restoration and cleaning.

For the first time, the couple’s studio, adjacent to the main living space, will be open to the public. It will now serve as a site for exhibitions, workshops and meeting space.

A New Foundation

In tandem with the reopening of the Eames House, the Eames family launched the Charles and Ray Eames Foundation, an initiative dedicated to preserving and advancing the legacy of the two American international creative visionaries. Today, their studio, the Eames Office, is still in operation and owns the intellectual property for all of the Eames’ designs and assets. It continues as a cultural and commercial entity and is the main benefactor of the new Charles and Ray Eames Foundation.

The foundation also announced that it will convene the first Eames Conference in Los Angeles in 2026, creating a new forum for professional dialogue between Eames scholars and institutions like the Library of Congress, the Vitra Design Museum, The Henry Ford, the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity and The Museum of Modern Art. The Eames’ grandson said the family is focused on carrying on Charles’ and Ray’s legacy for future generations.

“As grandchildren, it has been our honor to ensure that Charles and Ray continue to make a global impact. Their work extended far beyond their most recognizable contributions in furniture and architecture — it was philosophy, photography, art, exhibition design, toys, lighting design, architecture. It is our responsibility to ensure those contributions are not lost. This next chapter is about succession planning and looking ahead to future generations,” said the couple’s grandson Eames Demetrios, who is the director of the Eames Office, and chairman of the Charles & Ray Eames Foundation. Non-family member Eckart Maise, former chief design officer at Vitra and fourth generation Eames family member Jackie Cassel were appointed to its board of directors, which includes Charles and Ray’s five grandchildren.

Fire Resilience Is Key

The board also appointed Adrienne Luce as executive director of the foundation. Luce was formerly executive director of the HMC Designing Futures Foundation in Los Angeles.

Luce said ensuring fire resilience is imperative to the survival of the estate for years to come and is central to the foundation’s long-term vision. As part of the foundation’s 250 Year Project to conserve this historic landmark, it will implement a holistic, multilayered strategy that balances preservation with innovation. This includes a robust landscape management plan to fire-harden the site, restore native vegetation, install an underground cistern to support emergency response, and embrace emerging exterior fire protection technologies. “These efforts are complemented by community convenings and research initiatives that advance broader wildfire recovery and long-term regional resilience,” she told WWD.

The foundation already hosted two gatherings in the studio — one with neighbors, wildfire survivors and community leaders, and another with architects from Case Study: Adapt, a union of 10 of Los Angeles’ leading architecture firms, which work together to redefine residential design for a changing climate and address challenges facing the Palisades and support broader wildfire recovery efforts.