For the past couple of years, we have been following Italian architect and AMDL Circle founder Michele De Lucchi's Substack, and have enjoyed his mix of travel journals, meditations on design and architecture, and regular glimpses into the maestro's thinking and approach to life and design.
'I write about architecture, design, innovation, our common future; about Italy, the places I visit around the world, and the wonderful people I meet. [I'm] dedicated to exploration,' says De Lucchi of his writings.
Michele De Lucchi's sketches
This summer, his Friday newsletters have landed in our inboxes in the form of a pencil sketch. It's a simple format that includes a small drawing accompanied by a brief note, aphorism or question. The sketches, which are delightfully informal, become portals to bigger reflections on creativity and the act of making.
As one might expect from a creative whose work effortlessly balances precision with a quiet sense of playfulness, he is extremely specific about his drawing kit.
'I never leave the house without a sheet of paper,' De Lucchi says. 'I’ve even baptized the little sheets I carry in my jacket pocket as "pocket papers." If I have an idea, I have to put it on paper, preferably with a sharpened 8B pencil. It’s nothing more than ordinary A4 printer paper torn into quarters to fit in my pocket.'
The sketches usually feature De Lucchi himself, wearing his distinctive round glasses, busy in everyday activities such as riding a bicycle, lighting a match ('the inspiration is the spark, creativity is the fire that ignites change', reads the text underneath) or lying on his bed. Simple and raw, both sketches and writings are a very joyful surprise each week.
'I keep the sheets together with archivist’s bulldog clips and let my pockets round the corners and soften the pencil marks,' continues De Lucchi. 'After spending several days in the back pocket of my trousers, the drawings always end up a bit crumpled, worn, and strangely glossy. They take on a distinctive mark that I wouldn’t know how to get otherwise — the mark of the pockets and of my backside'
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