The Village | Lighthouse

The Village collection emerged from the world-shifting events of 2020 as a response to the extraordinary transformations we all experienced during those months. Amidst the turmoil and difficulties, however, there were positive elements and sensations, and we wanted to find a way to tell that story through the medium of design.

Among the key realisations were the rediscovery of what our homes mean to us and the importance of solidarity among citizens, no matter where in the world we are from or live. Reflecting the global nature of the situation, we invited leading designers from Italy and around the world to provide their interpretation of home as the fulcrum of our existence.

The collection draws upon values and meanings, encompassing conviviality, the pleasure of the familiar and the understanding that our home represents not only a safe haven but a place where we can give full rein to our own personal aesthetic taste.

The result is a series of miniature houses in natural stone that embody these values, expressed through the imagination, style and experiences of the various artists who contributed. After all, meaningful design is also about giving form to our principles and ideas through timeless objects.

__Lighthouse, Piero Lissoni’s contribution to The Villag__e, is a diminutive piece designed to house a small candle, transforming it into a lighthouse. Effortlessly elegant, it is also a symbolic object that reminds us to always seek light even in the darkest moments.

Architecturally, it is tall and slender, crowned by a pitched roof containing a pair of circular windows. The colour of the walls is intriguingly indefinable with the striking veining of sandblasted Grigio Versilia marble ranging in hue from pure white to cool anthracite grey, interrupted by large asymmetrical windows that allow the light to flood in.

This small but perfectly formed piece of architecture embodies the principles of an ideal small town in a way that could be considered metaphysical. Its very shape brings out the extraordinary characteristics of the stone it is made from, creating a piece of art that is centred around the material itself.

“I always start from an architectural standpoint, so for me design is just architecture on a different scale. I tried to scale down the architecture even further so that it became a type of small model to construct a kind of ideal small town.”