Lodovico Acerbis, third generation and former president of Acerbis until 2013, died on 1 August in Bergamo.
Born in Bergamo in 1939, he graduated in business and economics and in 1963 he joined the company founded by his father which he transformed from a carpentry shop into an industrial organisation. His vision, to create furniture by applying the most advanced technologies, using the finest materials and collaborating with the most innovative designers, guided the company to a leading position in the furniture sector.
As Marco Romanelli wrote in Abitare in 2005, years ago, his distinctive feature lay in being able to play the role of entrepreneur and designer at the same time, in a permeability of roles that he had the ability to compartmentalise and balance. ‘You could define him as a designer who produces or a producer who designs,’ he wrote.
He was behind some of the most significant creations in the landscape of Italian design, awarded with numerous international awards including the Compasso d’Oro (Milan), the Gold Medal at the Biennale of Industrial Design (Ljubljana), and the Silver Award of Institute of Business Designers (New York).
With him, the company managed to codify cutting-edge solutions for the living environment, such as modular furniture, through the reinterpretation of sideboards, bookcases and storage units, in addition to the development of ground breaking door movement systems. Some of these innovations, such as Central Block (1975) and Sheraton (1977) are exhibited at New York’s MoMA in the ‘Italy: The New Domestic Landscape’ exhibition and form part of the permanent collection of the V&A in London.
He is also responsible for the participation in Salone del Mobile, in which he wanted to take part since the first edition in 1965, having attended each subsequent edition without fail: and always with products that reflect his mission defined by research, modernity and innovation.
In 2019 Acerbis was bought by MDF Italia.
