For the covers of Harry Potter‘s new Italian edition 2021 by Salani Editore, AMDL CIRCLE took the wizarding world locations and represented them as visionary architectures.
The architecture and buildings on the new covers drew on the design imagery of the studio, and particularly buildings that have symbolic connections with the places from the Harry Potter stories. Many of the images chosen are connected to our research Earth Stations, Stations on Planet Earth.
A new landscape, a new imagery
By creating these architectural settings AMDL CIRCLE aimed to broaden the vision of the novel and bridge the gap between Harry Potter’s collective imagination and the imagination of each one of his readers.
Therefore, at the centre of this new fantastic world we won’t find the focus on the protagonists but instead on imaginative architectures around which everyone can experience different emotions. AMDL CIRCLE created a new visual reference to welcome new and old generations of fans by giving the covers an innovative and undeniable look.
From archetypes to Harry Potter’s covers
AMDL CIRLCE referred to the conceptual design of the “Abbeys” to represent Howgarts. “Abbeys” are solid and sturdy buildings, strongly anchored to the ground but reaching upwards thanks to the momentum of the spires that lead the gaze towards the sky and, metaphorically, towards the future. The reference of these sculptures comes from Tuscany’s and central Italy’s Gothic abbeys.
READ ALSO – Michele De Lucchi. Architecture history emotions
“This is an imaginary story…Aren’t they all?”
Alan Moore
The architect Michele De Lucchi, who made the history of Italian design (his long-term friendship with Ettore Sottssas and Achille Castiglioni whom he considered his masters) has always recognized the quality of wood based on genuine sustainability. He also had to consider the special qualities that his ecological production could acquire by meeting with Listone Giordano and start to cooperate on Medoc (the most award winning wood surface of all time) for the Natural Genius collection.
Wood exudes a natural charm; one of its ancestral features is that its fiber is pure pulp. It’s a simple yet rich material. An extraordinary expressive and aesthetically striking “wooden sculpture” in which the material evokes the artist’s memory.
READ ALSO – The trees, back to the project’s roots!
A free and creative surface, that bears the sharp, geometric mark of the designer who dares to reinterpret an everyday object and transport it into a new dimension where the project’s rigorous trapezoidal grid outlines the perimeter of a space inhabited by human energy and passion.
“You would have to be able to walk on your hands to appreciate the sheer beauty of the wooden floors” Michele De Lucchi stated in the opening chapter of the recently published Natural Genius Book.
That way you could really feel the nature captured in the wood, it’s soft to the eyes yet durable to walk on and it feels warm to the touch. This profoundly luxurious material, both in its shape and decor, needs no further design touch which may only spoil its appearance, detracts from its richness and alters its authentic nature.
Text and Images, courtesy of AMDL CIRCLE, photo credits Santi Caleca
