Carl-Alex Acking

(Sweden, 1910-2001)

Carl-Scandinavian Alex Acking, a Swedish architect and designer, studied at the School of Fine Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm for four years (1930-1934) and then from 1934 to 1939 at the Royal Institute of Technology in the same city. In the early 1930s he also worked with the great architect functionalist Erik Gunnar Asplund, as part of the construction of Göteborg Courthouse.

In 1937 Acking participates at the International Exhibition of Arts and Techniques in Paris, and two years later, in 1939, he exhibited his work at the New York show. The same year, he opened his agency in Stockholm.

Unlike most Swedish architects, Acking not only designed buildings but also interiors, furniture and lighting.

In 1944, he presents a bentwood chair ahich seat is molded plywood and simple file components to be assembled are particularly suitable for mass production. Alongside his furniture factory manufactured by Nordiska Kompaniet and Svenska Möbelfabrikerna in Bodafors, Acking draws more luxurious rooms, which are made by artisans in Stockholm and sold by Hanverkert (the sales network of the group of Crafts Stockholm)

 His many architectural achievements include Hässelby hotel in Stockholm (1954-1956). He is responsible for the interior design of the North Star Line ships, the Swedish Embassy in Tokyo and Malmen Stockholm (1949). This project provides the opportunity to develop innovative chairs equipped with padded seats that can be removed from the chassis cradle for cleaning or repair. He also draws on Malmen room dining chair made of five elements easy to assemble. He is also responsible for building a pavilion for the memorable exhibition "H55" Helsingborg in 1955.

Throughout his career Acking designed wallpapers, textiles and lighting. He draws a phone booth (1944) and a stamp dispenser.

From 1943 to 1963 he taught design at the School of Fine Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm from 1965 to 1976 he was Professor of theoretical and applied aesthetics at the University of Lund. Acking was the first Swedish winner of the prestigious Lunning prize (1952).

His furniture is not usually characterised by such elegance that we find in Scandinavian design, but its simplicity of assembly and robustness are particularly suitable for office equipment and industrial manufacturing.