Michele De Lucchi

Michele de Lucchi was born in 1951 in Ferrara, Italy. He studied in Padua and later at the University of Florence, graduating in 1975. During the period of radical and experimental architecture he was a prominent figure in movements like Cavart, Alchymia and Memphis. De Lucchi designed products for Artemide, Dada Cucine, Kartell, Matsushita, Mauser, Poltrona Frau and Olivetti, for whom he has been Director of Design since 1992. He has elaborated various personal theories on the evolution of the workplace and has developed experimental projects for Compaq Computers, Philips, Siemens and Vitra. His architectural designs have been mainly for office buildings, in Japan, Germany and Italy. In 1999 he has appointed to renovate some of ENEL's (the Italian Electricity Board's) power plants. Many of his service interiors are in use at Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Bundesbahn, Enel, Poste Italiane, Telecom Italia, Mandarina Duck, Banca Popolare di Lodi and at other Italian and foreign banks. He has designed buildings for public and private museums, as well as numerous art and design exhibitions.

His professional work has always gone side-by-side 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 that are made using artisan techniques and crafts. The numerous international honors he has received include the following prizes: Good Design (Japan), Compasso d'Oro, Premio Smau, Office Design Eimu (Italy), Deutsche Auswahl, IF Hannover, Design Plus, Roter Punkt, and Design Team of the Year 1997 (Germany). His firm, aMDL, has its offices in Milan and Rome. In 2000 he was made an Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana by President Ciampi, for services to design and architecture. In 2001 he has been nominated Ordinary Professor at the Design and Art Faculty at the University in Venice. Selections of his products are exhibited in the most important design Museums in Europe, the United States and Japan.

Fiorella Bulegato graduated in architecture from the Venice Scool of Architecture in 1995 and is now completing a PhD in industrial design at La Sapienza University in Rome. For many years she has conducted documentary research for various publications, including Achille Castiglioni: 1983-2000 (Electa, 2001). She writes for periodicals and magazines with a particular concern for aspects of industrial design.

Sergio Polana graduated from the Venice School of Architecture in 1974 and now teaches at the same university. His contributions and articles have been published by the principal specialist magazines of architecture and design in Europe, the United States, and Japan. His books include monographs on Theo van Doesburg, J.J.P. Oud, Hugo Haring, H.P. Berlage, Joze Plecnik, Carlo Scarpa, Santiago Calatrava, and Achille Castiglioni. Since 1996 he has been a member of the editorial board of Casabella.