Biography

Michele De Lucchi was born in 1951 in Ferrara and graduated in architecture in Florence. During the period of radical and experimental architecture he was a prominent figure in movements like Cavart, Alchymia and Memphis.

De Lucchi has designed lamps and furniture for some of the best-known Italian and European makers. At Olivetti he was Director of Design from 1992 to 2002, He has developed various personal theories on the evolution of the workplace, as well as experimental projects for Compaq Computers, Philips, Siemens and Vitra.

His architectural designs have been mainly for office buildings, in Japan for NTT, in Germany for Deutsche Bank, in Switzerland for Novartis, and in Italy for Enel, Telecom Italia and Piaggio. In 1999 he was appointed to renovate some of ENEL's (the Italian Electricity Board's) power plants.

For Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Bundesbahn, Enel, Poste Italiane, Telecom Italia, Banca Popolare di Lodi, Banca 121, Banca Intesa and for other Italian and foreign banks he has collaborated on the evolution of their corporate images, introducing technical and aesthetic innovation.

He has curated numerous art and design exhibitions and designed buildings for museums such as the Museo Diocesano in Ivrea, the Triennale di Milano, the Permanente di Milano, the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome and the Neues Museum in Berlin.
His professional work has always been closely associated with a personal exploration of architecture, design, technology and crafts.

In 1990 he set up Produzione Privata, a small-scale concern through which Michele De Lucchi, unsolicited by clients, designs products made using artisan techniques and crafts.

He is currently working on the Fondazione Cini in Venice, on the renovation of the Sforzesco Castle museums with David Chipperfield, on the refurbishment of the Franco Parenti Theatre in Milan and on projects for the redevelopment of urban areas and quarters in Italy and abroad.

His firm, aMDL, has its offices in Milan and Rome.

In 2003 the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris acquired a considerable number of his works, which were exhibited for one year in two rooms in the permanent museum.
Selections from his works are exhibited in the most important design Museums in Europe, the United States and Japan.

In 2000 he was honoured with the title Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana by President Ciampi, for services to design and architecture.
In 2001 he was nominated Professor at the Faculty of Design and Art at the University of Venice.
In 2006 he received an Honorary Doctorate from Kingston University, for his contribution to the quality of living.

Bibliography

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Cavart, Architettura impossibile, Centro Di, Florence 1975
Cavart, Raduno internazionale "Homo Trahens", Il Candelaio Edizioni, Florence, 1977
B. Orlandoni, G. Vallino, Dalla città al cucchiaio, Studio Forma, Turin, 1977
M. De Lucchi, Progetti di Abitazioni Verticali. Nuovi comportamenti all'interno della casa, Il Candelaio Edizioni, Florence, 1978
Centrokappa, Il disegno italiano degli anni ’50, Editoriale Domus, Milan, 1980
B. Radice, Memphis: The New International Style, Electa, Milan, 1981, p. 19-23
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La Triennale de Milan. Maison Figurative (figurée) ou éclectique, “Habiter c’est vivre”, Éditions Alternatives, November 1983, pp. 242-243
M. De Lucchi, Ergo, enjoy in Everybody’s business. A fund of retrievable ideas for humanizing life in the office, “Herman Miller Research Corporation Editrice”, (DESIGN U.K., April 1983), p. 53
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4:3: 50 Jahre italienisches & deutsches Designfont-size: 8.0pt;, exhibition catalogue, Bonn 2000
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H. Hoeger, Michele De Lucchi, Architektur, Innenarchitechtur, Design, Edizioni Deutsche Verlags Anstalt, Munich, 2001
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AAVV, Aldo Cibic, Michele De Lucchi, Massimo Iosa Ghini, exhibition catalogue, Sparda-Bank Münster, Münster, 2001, pp. 22-39
Olivetti 1908-2000, Archivio Storico Olivetti, Ivrea, 2001
S. Polano, Achille Castiglioni tutte le opere 1938-2000, Electa, Milan, 2001
M. Vitta, Il progetto della bellezza, Einaudi, Torino, 2001
S. Suardi, Michele De Lucchi. Dopotolomeo, exhibition catalogue, 2002, Skira, Milan, 2002
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A. Bassi, La luce italiana. Design delle lampade 1945-2000, Electa, Milan, 2003
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F. Bulegato, S. Polano, Michele De Lucchi. Comincia qui e finisce là, Electa, 2004
M. De Lucchi, 12 Racconti con casette, Edizioni Corraini, 2005
M. De Lucchi, David Chipperfield Architetto, “David Chipperfield”, Federico Motta Editore, 2005
A. Burigana, M. Ciampi, Italian designers at home, Verbavolant, 2006, pp. 178-189
L. Saville, B. Stoddard (ed.), Design Secrets: Furniture, Rockport (USA), 2006
A. Bassi, Design anonimo in Italia, Electa, 2007