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Award ceremony Compasso d’Oro

Eugenio Perazza has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award 2020 by the jury of the XXVI ADI Compasso d’Oro. The founder of furniture manufacturer Magis, who initially resided in a small town in Veneto called Motta di Livenza, believes that tradition and innovation go hand in hand. In a region where centuries-old craftsmanship traditions have remained alive but in a region that is equally well known for its creativity and cosmopolitan trade, Perazza found the ideal environment to make his ideas a reality in close cooperation with international designers such as the Bouroullec brothers, Konstantin Grcic, Jasper Morrison and Jerzy Semour as well as businesses from nearby.

Further members of the family joined the company in 1996 in the form of his son Alberto and his son’s wife Barbara Minetto. In 2010 the company moved to its new site in Torre di Mosto, while in 2016 Alberto Perazza was appointed as the CEO of Magis. Eugenio – an excellent communicator who during projects is often on the phone with the involved designers several times a day – has continued his work turning his cooperative and family-based vision of design into a success, despite the new management. The jury’s statement says that “Eugenio Perazza, this force of nature,” has succeeded in “introducing a culture of high-end design and making use of all facets of design culture. In all his choices, he takes special care to respect and uphold local experience.”

The statement further notes that his perspective has always simultaneously had an international outlook and “steps away from nostalgia and provincialism”. It is not entirely a coincidence that the Magis emblem is a mule – a humble animal that is not conceited, does not show off, is a tireless worker, never gives up and picks itself up when it falls. Because instead of searching for the easy way out, it loves the challenge of constantly exploring new paths with obstinacy and curiosity.