De Lucchi, Michele
Michele De Lucchi was born in 1951 at Ferrara and graduated from the faculty of architecture in Florence. During the years of radical and experimental architecture he was one of the leading figures in movements such as Cavart, Alchimia and Memphis. He has designed lamps and furnishings for leading Italian and European firms. He was also head of Design Olivetti from 1988 to 2002.
He has designed and renovated buildings in Japan for NTT, in Germany for Deutsche Bank, in Switzerland for Novartis and in Italy for Enel, Olivetti, Piaggio, Poste Italiane and Telecom Italia. From 1999 he was commissioned to redevelop a number of Enel power stations.
He has curated numerous exhibitions of art and design and designed buildings for museums such as the Triennale in Milan, the Palazzo delle Esposzioni in Rome, the Neues Museum in Berlin, the Fondazione Cini in Venice and the Gallerie d’Italia – Piazza Scala in Milan.
His professional practice has always been accompanied by personal research into the issues of design, technology and craft. In 1990, De Lucchi founded Produzione Private, a small firm within the ambit of which he designs products manufactured using craft techniques and skills. Since 2004 he has sculpted wooden “houses” with a chainsaw in a search for the essence of architectural form.
