Am 24. Mai lud designfunktion zur Begegnung mit einem der vielseitigsten Designer der Gegenwart, Michele De Lucchi, ein. In seinem Vortrag "Mrs. Beauty: My Favorite Client“ sprach der renommierte Gestalter über die Bedeutung von Poesie und Schönheit und deren Einfluss auf seine Arbeit.
Michele De Lucchi ist für seine vom Radical Design geprägten Leuchten- und Möbelentwürfe bekannt. Sein Vortrag war außergewöhnlich poetisch. De Lucchi hat die Gäste mit auf eine einfühlsame Reise durch die Welt seiner Kunden genommen, die in seinem wechselvollen Leben eine wichtige Rolle für Ihn spielen. Diese Kunden sind keine Menschen, sondern personalisierte Themenwelten: Mr. Spirit of Time – als Rückblick auf den Beginn seiner Arbeit, im Kollektiv einer verantwortungsbewussten, kreativen Experimentierphase der 1970er Jahre; Mr. Industry – als wichtiger Kunde, mit dem man zusammen arbeiten sollte, anstelle ihn zu negieren; Mr. Craftmanship – die Basis guten Designs, Mrs. Culture, Mr. Technologie, Mr. Future... und Viele mehr. Schlussendlich Mrs. Beauty: his favorite Client – die Schönheit der Erde und der Natur als allumfassendes Vorbild für seine Arbeiten.
Silvia Pöhlsen: Currently you are doing a lot of wood works. What fascinates you about this material ?
Michele De Lucchi: Wood is probably the best material to express the sense of naturalism and to diffuse a kind of consciousness about natural materials. To me, wood is beautiful because it is extremely discrete and not supposed to resist for eternity.
You've been using wood to build architecture models. Do you believe thus that architecture embodies a culmination of design?
To me, design and architecture are a combination of activities concerning the design of human environment. This environment consists of interior and exterior, it is part of urban design; it is part of the human environment. I believe we don't do this for ourselves but to make human beings feel more comfortable.
In your speech, you've mentioned that the actual development in lighting technology, for example LEDs, is a challenge for designers. What specific challenge do you think of?
When I was designing a lamp ten years ago, I was doing it like that... (sketching a simple bell-shaped lampshade around a bulb). Today it is much more difficult to design something around the source of light, because it dissolves. Everything has become meaningless. Before, everything was understandable; the light was going to a clear, understandable direction. With LEDs the light comes from one direction only. This light is penetrating. The form of LED light is like that... (sketching many points). In any case, the lamp is an object. And to design lamps is interesting because it is very controversial. When you think in light, you think in something immaterial, but a lamp is an object, just the light is immaterial.
Would you like to work for the Industry again? For whom would you like to work in Bavaria or Germany?
I love to work for the industry; especially in Germany it is fantastic. Take the automotive industry for example. But I wouldn't like to work for that kind of industry. It is a different topic. I prefer to design for the human environment... Okay, vehicles are part of it... So I love to design bikes! I did a beautiful bike for myself. Bikes are beautiful objects!
What does this bike look like? Has it changed its form?
No, a bike stays a bike. Some forms don't have to be changed. A bike always ought to have two wheels.
In the 1980ies you've designed some other kind of technical devices, namely computers. Are you using this kind of new techniques for your work?
Yes I do, but I don't use computers to design, because I prefer to visualize my ideas in a sketchbook. And I'm used to sketch down my ideas in a much quicker way than on a computer. Sometimes I use the iPad to design, but it is more complicated. Maybe in future it becomes easier. When you store something on a computer, it is much more complicated: The places are complex, and then you often forget the rational scheme how to find the things.
Thank you very much for this conversation!
