Claudio Salocchi and the utopia of the modern home.
Fifty years have already passed since 1973, when Claudio Salocchi designed the Free System sofa: a programme of upholstered modules that can be placed side by side fluidly and without interruption.
An independent and unlabelled figure, Salocchi has never collaborated with Acerbis, but his production and research share elective affinities with the company.
The revolutionary potential of Free System is now more contemporary than ever, capable of spanning different domestic landscapes.
The Free System project represents an evolution of customs towards an informal lifestyle, whereby from having to sit ‘composedly’, one wanted to sit ‘comfortably’.
Three different modules – pouf, tatami and seat with two types of backrest – are the actors of a modular system that can be put together in multiple combinations and configurations.
In the same year, on the occasion of the 15th Milano Triennale, Salocchi launched Napoleone: a family of tables, coffee tables and display units characterised by simple geometric shapes and the combination of materials that were unprecedented for traditional homes of the time. At the origin of the series is the table, deprived of its two capitals and designed to be used in an equal confrontation facing each other. It is precisely this distinctive feature that ironically inspired the name Napoleone.
Consisting of a brushed stainless steel bridge structure, it accommodates opposing mirrors that create an intriguing play of reflections and transparencies, allowing those sitting down to see their own image, with interesting introspective implications.