Piero Lissoni crafts Lighthouse sculpture for Salvatori’s ‘The Village’

The pandemic that struck the world in late 2019 and subsequently resulted in a global shutdown in the early months of 2020, underscored the importance of a proper shelter amongst all individuals. While the poorer population yearned for a basic household set-up where they could spend this period of distress in peace, the wealthier and affluent populace began to understand that a shelter should, perhaps, house more than just the elemental spaces dedicated to eating-sleeping-working, that it should also comprise spaces that can effectively cater to the desires that were earlier fulfilled outdoors.

These were the exact circumstances under which Gabriele Salvatori, the CEO of Italian design brand Salvatori, envisioned The Village, a project that comprises a collection of miniature sculptures made out of natural stone. Each of these sculptural art pieces are adept expressions of the different ways in which designers interpret the concept of a home. “For me, The Village is an expression of the world as it really is. It’s a miniature representation of the world we live in,” explains Salvatori on being asked what the project represents. Salvatori has worked in collaboration with several designers from different corners of the world on this project, the most recent one being Italian architect and designer, Piero Lissoni, who created Lighthouse for the currently ongoing project.

Salvatori’s intention with The Village was to welcome a diverse range of designers from different geographical and cultural backgrounds, bearing individual and original experiences and ideas, in order to create a miniature stone version of the real world. Some of the other designers that are part of the project include Kengo Kuma, Steven Burks, John Pawson, George Yabu , Glenn Pushelberg, Patricia Urquiola, Vincent Van Duysen, Elisa Ossino and Rodolfo Dordoni.

Piero Lissoni’s Lighthouse is a simplistic model that appears like it has been carved out of wax. Defined by clean and sharp edges, the stone sculptures stand erect next to each other, reminiscent of charming Italian villas huddled together. “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,” shares Piero Lissoni about the process behind his model.