You might have seen the Eames' exhibits on mathematics[1,2], computing[3], and other topics[4] at museums or worlds fairs, starting in the 1960s and continuing to today.
They were remarkable creative people, weren't they? So far from the fussy modernist stereotype. And the home where they lived was very far from the sterile places we think of with "modernism". Their "House of Cards" plaything is another example (http://shop.eamesoffice.com/small-house-of-cards.html).
The better minimalist architects of the mid 20th century were very much into careful choices of materials. Eames, Wright, and to some extent van der Rohe chose materials well for their big, flat surfaces. Minimalism in lesser hands looks much worse. If you replicated Fallingwater with gypsum board walls, it would look awful inside.
