Michele De Lucchi
Born in Ferrara, Italy in 1951, Michele De Lucchi studied architecture in Florence and founded the "Gruppe Cavart" in Padua while still a student, propagating radical design.
De Lucchi is an extremely talented and multi-faceted designer. He has never limited himself to a single design discipline, alternating between the different fields of furniture, interior design, lighting, and architecture. He created computers for Olivetti, table lamps for Artemide, doorknobs for Valli Columbo, and tape dispensers for Pelikan. In addition, he designed exhibitions and banks in Germany, apartment houses in Japan, and of course office furniture.
Michele De Lucchi taught industrial design at the University of Florence during the mid-1970s and became one of Ettore Sotsass' closest colleagues and friends. Afterwards, De Lucchi was employed by Olivetti as a design consultant. Together with Sotsass, he designed the "Icarus" office furniture series for Olivetti and decorated Fiorucci shops all over the world.
His sense of colour and playful forms is expressed in his designs for everyday items as well as in his furniture designs such as the Kristall sideboard he designed for Memphis in 1981 which resembles a four-legged animal.
He is a versatile designer who creates objects that impress with their faultless elegance, straight-forwardness and meticulous manufacturing. One such example is the well-known table lamp Ptolemeo, which was awarded the Compasso d'Oro.
The activities of his own Milan studio range from industrial and furniture design to interior design. Vistosi, Haworth, Fontana Arte, Artemide, RB Rossanan, Arflex, Acerbis, and Bodum are among his many customers.
His many international design awards include:
- Compasso d' Oro
- G-Mark (Good Design), Japan;
- Design Plus;
- Design Team of the Year, Germany, 1997;
- iF Design Award, Hannover, Smau.
