The Doors

As one of Italy’s oldest furniture manufacturers, Acerbis has a long heritage of craftsmanship and quality cabinetmaking. Over the years, the output of the company founded in 1870 by Benvenuto Acerbis has evolved to meet the demands of its customers, and at the recent Salone del Mobile – the 50th the company has participated in – Acerbis launched new items including a fully upholstered leather sofa that allowed it to finally present a complete living-room concept.

When Enrico Acerbis, the fourth generation of his family to manage the company, took control in 2013, his goal was to build on the brand’s established reputation and develop new products that fulfil the varied needs of its international clientele. “We are still mainly cabinetmakers, that is our core production, but we are consistently adding complementary pieces to the cabinets to create a complete environment,” Acerbis explains. “We were already protagonists in the living room, with the wall systems for home entertainment, the sideboards, tables and other items. We just needed sofas to complete the scenario.”

The new products unveiled at the furniture fair follow the same philosophy that has helped the Bergamo-based company gain a following for its exquisitely detailed cabinets, sideboards and shelving systems. Particularly since the 1960s, when Enrico’s father Lodovico began to focus on modern manufacturing techniques and forming relationships with leading designers, Acerbis has developed many products that combine technological innovation with an experimental attitude. This has led to award-winning designs such as the Sheraton sideboard, which are especially notable for their innovative opening mechanisms. “We tend to invent opening systems with our own design and engineering and produce new mechanical components,” Acerbis points out. “In this way, the gesture of opening the sideboards becomes a design experience itself.”

In 2014, Acerbis appointed architect Massimo Castagna to the role of creative director and asked him to refine the existing catalogue while continuing to identify suitable collaborations. Castagna, who has been designing for Acerbis since 2007, looks to establish relationships with designers who can introduce fresh thinking and contribute to the eclectic feel of the brand’s collection whilst retaining its essential character.

At the Salone del Mobile, Acerbis unveiled two products by young designer Giacomo Moor that encapsulate its desire to engage with a new generation of creative talent. The Outline bookcase is a practical free-standing item that is distinguished by a unique structural detail; a system for fastening wooden shelves to the frame by slotting them onto circular horizontal rods.

Moor has also embraced the firm’s expertise in custom-making mechanisms with Alterego, a pair of sideboards featuring a sophisticated and surprising opening system. At first glance, the units appear to be supported by vertical planes at the front, but in fact these panels slide across to reveal part of the internal storage area. This motion releases a hinged door that opens up the rest of the cabinet.

Another of the new releases marks a key stage in the realisation of the complete living-room concept. The Hyper sofa designed by Massimo Castagna is the first in what Acerbis expects will be a series of upholstery products that complement its core range. Hyper’s low, elongated form is supported at either end by solid arms, creating a light and streamlined aesthetic with a deep seat and loose cushions ensuring optimum comfort.

Other additions to the company’s catalogue in 2016 include updates to the N.C. Landscape modular wall-mounted system, which launched last year. The product provides a range of options for integrating shelving and audio-video systems, which are set against surfaces made from the innovative marble-effect ceramic material, K-STONE, or tactile black eucalyptus. The introduction of a new sliding front panel allows the shelves and cupboards to be revealed or concealed as required.

A key challenge for Acerbis is updating the many classic designs in its collection to keep them feeling fresh and suited to use in contemporary living environments. The final new release this year is an updated version of Piergiorgio Cazzaniga’s 2003 Airy chair. Its simple aluminium shell incorporating cuts that provide increased flexibility can now be specified with padded cushions featuring quilted stitching, while solid ash bases introduce a warm and robust natural element that matches the theme of the new living room concept.

The latest additions to the Acerbis range epitomise the company’s efforts to create a complete collection of living-room products that are united by a singular vision. It’s a vision based on facilitating a multi-sensory experience, combining timeless design with tactile materials and integrated video and acoustic systems. “What we have tried to do in the past two years is identify an Acerbis mood in terms of materials, colours and products,” claims Enrico Acerbis, “and then create a scenario where the pieces all work well together, even if you combine a sideboard from the seventies with a table designed last year.” The result is a coherent collection that encapsulates the values and expertise cultivated by Acerbis over its long and distinguished history.

© Architonic