Forged in fire, the project sees ancient lava stone return to its fluid origins under the design vision of Nerosicilia and BIG.
On the occasion of the recent 3daysofdesign, Copenhagen’s leading design event, Nerosicilia unveiled an exclusive new project in collaboration with the international studio BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group. The project, titled “1669,” stemmed from a shared research platform: a mutual interest in natural materials and their expressive potential when observed and worked with an innovative and contemporary approach.
The two entities met at the intersection of experimentation and technical precision. BIG contributed its design vision, free from conventions and capable of uncovering unexplored forms and possibilities within materials, while Nerosicilia brought its expertise in working with lava stone, rooted in its physical and cultural proximity to the Etna Volcano. Together, they shaped a series of furnishings that push the boundaries of stone, rediscovering its most authentic potential.
This research led to the creation of 1669: a collection of dining and coffee tables in lava stone that celebrates this natural material in its most authentic and radical form. The name references the historic 1669 eruption of Mount Etna, which gave rise to the very stone used in the collection’s making. The collection is the result of a creative process in which the stone was transformed solely through its intrinsic physical properties and the power of heat, without the use of glues, metals, or binders.
“With BIG, we share a vision: letting the material guide the project. That’s how 1669 was born from lava stone and the desire to rediscover its truest essence, not by forcing it, but by accompanying it through its natural transformation,” stated Biagio Amarù, founder of Nerosicilia.
During the experimentation phase, a fascinating phenomenon emerged: when exposed to extreme temperatures, lava stone tends to revert to lava, losing its geometry to take on new, fluid, and unpredictable forms. This reaction inspired the design of 1669—a circular top fused directly onto a hollow cylinder that serves as a pedestal.
The cylinder was hollowed out internally through coring, and the removed mass became the support for fusing the top. During firing, the top softened and conformed to the shape beneath it, creating a living, organic surface that seems to have just emerged from the volcano itself.
The result is a furnishing piece that becomes sculpture, a synthesis of craftsmanship, ingenuity, and the poetry of matter. 1669 stands as a tribute to the memory of fire, a design exercise that honors and enhances the essence of lava stone.