Entrepreneur, designer, great creative, writer. Lodovico Acerbis, third generation and president of the Acerbis company until 2013, passed away on Friday 30 July in Bergamo at the age of 82.
Born in 1939 in Albino and graduated in Economics and Commerce, in 1963 he joined the company founded by his father which he will transform from a carpentry shop into an industrial reality. His vision, to create furniture by applying the most advanced technologies, using the finest materials and collaborating with the most innovative designers, has led the company to a leading position in the furniture sector.
It was 1870 when Benvenuto Acerbis set up his carpentry shop in Albino. «Welcome Acerbis Upholstery, Carpenter and Carpenter. Electric Motor Furniture Factory. Complete Plants »so read the sign. In 1963, the company moved to Seriate and Lodovico Acerbis took over the leadership of the company. It is with him that the Acerbis International brand was born: a brand that makes the artisan heritage of the past its own, reinterpreting it in the new collections of design objects.
A photo of Lodovico Acerbis from the 1970s
As Marco Romanelli wrote years ago in Abitare, his distinctive feature lay in «knowing how to play the role of entrepreneur and designer together, in a permeability of roles that he knew how to keep distinct and in balance. One could define a designer who produces or a manufacturer who designs ».
His are some of the most significant creations in the panorama of Italian design, awarded with numerous international awards including the Compasso d’Oro (Milan), the Gold Medal at the Biennale of Industrial Design (Ljubljana), the Silver Award of Institute of Business Designers (New York).
With him, the company arrives at the codification of cutting-edge solutions for the living environment, such as modular furniture, through the reinterpretation of sideboards, bookcases and storage units to which is added the development of door movement systems. Some of these innovations, such as Central Block (1975) and Sheraton (1977), have been exhibited at the MoMA in New York in the legendary exhibition “Italy: The New Domestic Lanscape” and part of the permanent collection of the V&A museum in London.
Today the product of his vision thrives with Mdf Italia which in 2019 joined forces with Acerbis by acquiring the furniture brand, born in 1870 in Val Seriana, within its group.
Not just a designer and entrepreneur. Lodovico Acerbis was also a writer. From his travel experiences and from the creative vein of made in Italy design, numerous novels were born. He made his debut with “Pierino Sgiufa, the turner” (Ferrari 2006), among others “The raft around the world”, “Four squinternati and a white cloud” and “Come back to life” of 2018.
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED
–
