MICHELE De Lucchi drifts into the room.
Despite his looming presence — his trademark bushy unkempt beard grown to differentiate himself from his twin brother, and dressed in dark garb — a pair of gentle eyes, rimmed by glasses designed by the man himself, peers with curiosity at me.
The much celebrated and decorated architect and designer is among the elite few referred to as ‘archistars’ for their stellar contributions to the discipline.
While many thus celebrated would consider their accomplishments as pedestals upon which to instruct and radiate their brilliance, Michele’s approach seems to be more grounded and embellished with liberal doses of curiosity.
Growing up as the eldest in a male-dominated family of eight brothers, Michele graduated from the University of Florence and applied himself to the burgeoning industrial design.
Along the way, he teamed up with fellow professionals who would eventually develop products that endear and endure as symbols of a creative era and reference points for the future.
In this interview with STORM-ASIA.COM, Michele De Lucchi talks about the future of design, the impact of globalisation, why the Big Apple has lost its lustre, why air-conditioning should be discontinued, and the importance of ego in designers.
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A Growing List Of Accomplishments
Michele’s long list of accomplishments includes buildings, furniture, accessories and art that can be found around the world.
His First Chair (1983) for the Memphis Group and the world’s best-selling Tolomeo lamp (1987) for Artemide are still benchmarks for forward design thinking.
Michele designed for renowned European companies and was Director of Design for Olivetti for a decade, from 1992.
He developed experimental projects for Compaq Computers, Philips, Siemens and Vitra, applying his own theories about life and living in many of them.
He designed and restored buildings in Japan and Europe, designed exhibitions for museums, built a Bridge of Peace in Tbilisi, paints and builds in his rustic studio near his office in Milan.
He recently designed special covers for the Italian version of the Harry Potter books.
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With a perspective on almost everything, Michele is the ideal dinner guest, able to regale you with tales of his own accomplishments while politely offering his own views on the matters of the world.
