Riccardo De Vecchi, a Netherlands- and Italy-based photographer and filmmaker, will discuss his documentation of architectural spaces. His practice examines both completed structures and their creation processes, employing photography as a method of documentary storytelling that emphasizes the evolution of construction and transformation.
Specializing in multidisciplinary research, De Vecchi investigates architecture’s relationship with context, human presence, and spatial experience. He frequently collaborates with architects, artists, and institutions, reflecting his integrative approach to architectural representation. In recent years, he has collaborated with the College van Rijksadviseurs (Board of Government Advisors) and Dutch governmental bodies on research initiatives addressing urban and territorial development in the Netherlands, working under the guidance of former Rijksbouwmeester Floris Alkemade and current Government Architect Francesco Veenstra.
Kicking off the spring 2025 Berlage Sessions, entitled “The Architect’s Friends.” this inaugural lecture explores how documentation practices—such as Riccardo De Vecchi’s photographic examination of architectural creation and transformation—mediate interdisciplinary collaborations between designers and architects. By foregrounding these creative alliances, the lecture aims to demonstrate how innovative documentation strategies redefine the storytelling of place, offering new frameworks for understanding design’s role in territorial development and urban change.
Riccardo De Vecchi is a photographer and filmmaker. His portfolio includes collaborations with OMA, Carlo Ratti, Studio Ossidiana, Camper, Studio RAP, JVST, O&O Baukunst, NXT Museum, Gamec Bergamo, Politecnico di Milano, Enzo Valerio, Studio Raito, Oblique Architecture, amongst others. He has taught at the Rotterdam Academy van Bowkunst, KABK in Den Haag, and the Venice Institute for Architecture (IUAV).
The Berlage Sessions is a thematic series exploring critical approaches to investigate architecture’s history and theory. Its spring 2025 edition, The Architect’s Friends, interrogates interdisciplinary dynamics between architects and designers. The series will dissect collaborative processes, emphasizing mutual creative exchange across design disciplines such as graphic design, photography, and spatial practice. Speakers will include artists, graphic designers, model makers, photographers, and others.