UniFor is proud to support Michele De Lucchi in his solo exhibition ‘Roppongi
Rokken: Sei Case’ which will be held from 20th September to 14th October
at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT Gallery 3 in Tokyo, an exhibition space dedicated to
design conceived by Issey Miyake and designed by Tadao Ando.
“It happened purely chance, as is often the case, fortunately. The entropy
with which the universe moves, which is chaos, randomness, indeterminacy,
incomprehensibility, suddenly comes together in one clear lucid message.”
(Michele De Lucchi)
The six works on display are part of the Logge series, sculptures that belong
to the architect’s extensive artistic production and in which Michele De Lucchi
explores the idea of ‘’in between space’’, understood as that part of a house
that connects the inside with the outside.
“The walls of these houses are made of frames with different patterns, like
the ‘shoji’ partitions in Japanese houses or like the windows of the verandas
and loggias found in European houses. […] They evoke both the traditional
Japanese tea houses and the more contemporary architecture which aims to
create a unified space between the interior of men’s buildings and the open
environment of nature.” (Michele De Lucchi)
The houses, three made of wood and three of bronze, are small, single-story
and are displayed on solid oak plinths, designed by Michele De Lucchi and
made by UniFor. The choice of materials stems from De Lucchi’s personal
passion for anthropology. Wood and bronze are the oldest and most noble
materials with which civilisation has been shaped and humanity has developed.
The pedestals are composed of a series of solid oak blocks, hand-sawn and
treated with the technique of acetyl oxidation. The result is unique pieces, in
both design and manufacture, where UniFor’s sartorial know-how, the legacy
of a very skilled craftsmanship tradition, finds its highest expression. The
strength of the bases helps to root the small loggias and emphasise their
presence that is both textural and light.
This collaboration, which sees UniFor alongside Michele De Lucchi in this
major project, further strengthens the bond that has linked them for at least
thirty years. A strong, synergistic relationship, which began with the design of
the offices for the Deutsche Bank in Hannover in 1994 and has evolved over
time through projects, products and installations.
“I first got to know UniFor in the 1980s. At that time, I was working for Olivetti
Synthesis and UniFor was already an important reference for office design
culture in Italy and Europe. However, it was in the early 1990s, with the design
of the new Deutsche Bank branches, that I began a direct collaboration
and became more familiar with Piero Molteni. An engineer, owner and soul
of the company, he gave UniFor a prominent and distinctive cultural and
intellectual structure. Piero Molteni was reserved in a way that few people
are. Our meetings were composed up of glances and silences, but I knew that
he understood what was on my mind. And I am always left with the feeling
that everything we developed together became more beautiful than I had
imagined.” (Michele De Lucchi)
