Acre Made in Amazonia

The project Acre Made in Amazonia is a cooperation involving the Government of the Brazilian state of Acre, developed by the Secretariat of Development, Trade and Sustainable Services (SEDENS), the training institution Dom Moacyr with the support of SEBRAE/AC, FIEAC system, and POLI.design, Consorzio del Politecnico di Milano, with the support and collaboration of the first lady and architect Marlucia Candida, with the aim to create a design system linked to the territory, to its cultural identity and to its industrial development.

The concepts of the diverse lines were elaborated as part of a course still under development that involves students from the architecture college, artists, and masons.

Two internationally known designers, Bernardo Senna and Emmanuel Gallina, directed the project workshop, developing contemporary design objects with the students that are impregnated with local culture. A specialist in the furniture sector, Sergio Frison, directed the prototyping phase through a technical training process with the businesses involved in the venture. An Italian designer, Eugenia Chiara, created the brand and the visual communication, working side by side with local artists Tiago Tosh e Wenney Filgueiras.
Coordinated in Brasil by Elisangela Rocha, in Italy by Eugenia Chiara.

Each line contains a world within it, which starts by chosing its proper name. These names, which are traditional and symbolic (Jiboia, a serpent sacred to the Forest peoples; Palafita, names of traditional houses located on the rivers), refer to archetypical characters among the local population: the rubber extractor, the pajé (wise Indian chief ) and the river fisherman. The project, as a whole, deals with these worlds, approximating Acre, with its beauty and its products, to a more industrial universe, but without ever forgetting the values of sustainability, ecology, and respect for the forest, by highlighting the extraordinary biodiversity and richness of materials of rare excellence.

The brand “Acre, Made in Amazonia”, created by the government of Acre, joins together various businesses that participated in the project and would like to be the first seed of a productive development of Amazonia, always striving to be sustainable, whether in the environmental sense, but mostly socially sustainable.

Products

Each line contains an entire world, starting from its name, traditional and symbolic (eg, Palafita, the traditional houses on the river) which refers to archetypal characters of the local population: the seringueiro, the paje (wise native chief), the river fisherman.
Currently the collection has emerged in the world of high quality authorial design, and it is currently being commercialized in Brazil.

Unbalanced balance: furnitures of this line have different heights, like the houses on the banks of the river. This collection was inspired by the life of the population who live over the river: the two different wood used for the construction of the legs want to represent the different level of the water. Design: Bernardo Senna and Emmanuel Gallina.

Diversity made in wood: different types of wood dancing to the rhythm of the forró, composing the organic forms of this collection designed for public spaces, receptions and hotel rooms. Art direction: Bernardo Senna and Emmanuel Gallina.

Two contrasting wood: roxinho and cherry are two noble woods from the Amazon, who meet in recessed joints of this collection of furniture, as well as farmers and rubber tappers meet in “Empate” events organized by Chico Mendes, the acrean trade unionist, politician and environmentalist. Design: Emmanuel Gallina and Bernardo Senna.

Ancestral patterns: the ancestral symbols of the indigenous tribes of the Acre region is the inspiration for this line of chairs and tables for the interiors. Art Direction: Emmanuel Gallina.

Towering Star: symbol of Acre flag, the “Estrela Altaneira” represents the blood of the brave who fought for the annexation of the area of the state of Acre to Brazil. Design: Bernardo Senna.

The project has joined the Milano Design Week 2014: 
ACRE design made in Amazonia
WHEN&WHERE: April, Wednesday 9, 6.30 p.m., @ Design Library, Via Savona 11, Milano.
Acre day – Origens do Brasil exhibition: 
WHEN&WHERE: from April 8 till April 13, from 10 a.m. till 8 p.m.; Acre day: April 10, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. @ Palazzo Affari ai Giureconsulti, Piazza Mercanti 2, Milano
After the official launch of the collection held in August 2016 in San Paolo (Brazil) at the High Design Home & Office EXPO, the main event of the Design Weekend 2016, the main characters of the ACRE, Made in Amazonia project have met the public of the first edition of Design City Milano to present the five lines of furniture of the collection.

ACRE, Made in Amazonia has been also quoted between the projects in the book “Stories of Cooperation at Polimi 2011 – 2016”, an initiative organized by Polisocial, the commitment and social responsibility program of the Politecnico di Milano.

Visit our photogallery: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjX6fv2v