In a powerful fusion of geological heritage and avant-garde design, Italian stone masters Nerosicilia and visionary Danish firm BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group unveil their collaborative project, 1669. This striking collection of lava stone furniture, premiering at 3daysofdesign 2025 in Copenhagen, represents a profound return to primal materiality, exploring the boundary where experimental design meets the raw forces of nature.
Born from a shared obsession with natural materials and their untapped expressive potential, the collaboration leverages BIG’s boundary-pushing design vision and Nerosicilia’s deep-rooted expertise in working with lava stone sourced from the slopes of Sicily’s Mount Etna. The result is 1669 – a series of dining tables and coffee tables that defy conventional stonework, rediscovering the material’s most authentic essence through radical, respectful manipulation.
The collection’s name, 1669, pays direct homage to the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Etna that year, the very origin of the stone used centuries later. Its creation process is revolutionary: rejecting traditional adhesives and reinforcements, Nerosicilia and BIG harness solely the intrinsic physical properties of lava stone and the transformative power of extreme heat. No glues, metals, or binders are used. Instead, the stone itself guides the form.
A pivotal discovery drove the design: subjected to intense temperatures, the solidified lava stone exhibits a mesmerizing tendency to revert towards its molten state. This phenomenon inspired the collection’s signature aesthetic – a perfectly circular top seemingly fused directly onto a hollow cylinder base, acting as a pedestal. The cylinder is created through coring, and ingeniously, the extracted core mass becomes the support structure upon which the top is softened during firing. As the heat intensifies, the top yields, conforming organically to the shape beneath it. The outcome is a living surface, fluid and unpredictable, embodying the dynamic energy of its volcanic birth.
“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,” explains Biagio Amarù, founder of Nerosicilia.
More than mere furnishings, the 1669 pieces emerge as sculptural objects. They stand as a powerful synthesis of craftsmanship, technical ingenuity, and the intrinsic poetry of matter. Each table is a tribute to fire and geological time, a contemporary design exercise that profoundly honours and amplifies the unique character of lava stone.
The collection serves as the centerpiece of an immersive exhibition exploring material expression, hosted at the BIG Headquarter in Copenhagen’s Nordhavn district during the festival. Presented within the evocative “Earth” section, the display meticulously narrates the 1669 journey – from raw volcanic rock through experimental phases and prototypes to the breathtaking final furniture design.
1669 by Nerosicilia and BIG Architects is a compelling invitation to perceive primal matter with fresh eyes. It unearths a resonant contemporary voice from the stone’s millennial silence. This is sustainable design born directly from elemental fire, shaped by time and heat, and presented as a visceral, living memory of the Earth itself – a testament to the power of collaboration and material-led innovation.