"Take your pleasure seriously," said American designer and architect Charles Eames. The Eames partnership—Charles and his wife Ray—became famous for integrating playfulness with work. Their designs for practical and beautiful furniture led the mid-20th-century movement toward prefabricated mass manufacturing—and they had fun doing it. "Who ever said that pleasure wasn't functional?" said Mr. Eames, born on this day, June 17, 1907, in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Learn more:

• Charles and Ray Eames: American Designers
• Case Study House #8 (Eames House)
• 100 Quotes by Charles Eames, 2007 (compare prices)
• Eames Office Toys
• Eames Memory Game, 2012 (compare prices)

_{Photo: From the exhibition "The Work of Charles & Ray Eames: A Legacy of Invention," ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, Library of Congress in partnership with the Vitra Design Museum}

An accident waiting to happen? I have to confess I felt a bit nervous when I saw plans for the newest pavilion at the Serpentine Gallery in London's Kensington Gardens. Designed by Sou Fujimoto, the 2013 Pavilion is a delicate network of steel lattice. The temporary structure will remain open for the public to explore until October 20, when it will be dismantled.

Every year a different architect designs a temporary pavilion for the Serpentine Gallery. For photos of all the pavilions constructed since the program began, see: Summer Pavilions in London.

New and Updated Architecture Pages:

• Westminster Abbey
• Seattle Public Library
• Liz Diller, diller scofidio + renfro
• Is a Bonfire Architecture?
• Constructivism
• Ninth Serpentine Gallery Pavilion

^{Photo of Sou Fujimoto-designed Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2013, Kensington Gardens, by ©Loz Pycock, Loz Flowers on flickr.com, Attribution-CC ShareAlike 2.0 Generic}

Sometimes all we want in life is to collect our thoughts while lounging in a beautiful place. This reproduction of the 1948 Eames La Chaise lounge chair (compare prices) could be the answer. Charles and Ray Eames created designs that became functional sculpture—eye-catching beauty with a posterior function. In fact, many great architects have dabbled in furniture-making.

Famous Chair Designs:

• The Barcelona Chair by Mies van der Rohe
• The Hill House Chair by Charles Rennie Mackintosh
• The Nonconformist Chair by Eileen Gray
• The Barrel Chair by Frank Lloyd Wright
• The Tulip Chair by Eero Saarinen

But are they comfortable? In our About.com polls, the Barcelona Chair by Mies van der Rohe is way ahead. Where do you weigh in? Pick your favorite chair.

^{Photo of 1948 Charles and Ray Eames lounge chair reproduction courtesy of PriceGrabber.com}

John Augustus Roebling lived the 19th century American dream. Born in Germany on June 12, 1806, the civil engineer gained wealth and fame in the United States for suspension bridge construction. Where is Roebling's oldest surviving suspension bridge in America? Read More...