Michele De Lucchi

You were one of the founding members of the Memphis design movement, which gained global notoriety in the mid to late 1970s. What was Italy like at that time?

In the 1970s, I was a student. When you are a student, you have all your life in front of you, and you have to be optimistic. I wanted to show myself as able to make life better. It was also a very special moment, because in 1968 students started, especially in France and later in Italy, to be openly against not only the political regime, but especially the concept that everything should be immovable, closed, paralyzed by conventions. This was fantastic for me, to fight against this bullying situation. To show that the role of an architect is much more exciting and important than just to design objects and buildings. At the time, our belief was that an architect and a designer should not design to impose their will, but should design to excite the creativity of people.