London-based designer Paddy Pike has officially unveiled the Figulus collection — a range of furniture embodying both Pike’s tech-driven design process and nature’s powerful creative potential. Made of actual lava rock from Italy’s most legendary volcano, the sculptural works bind ancient materials with modern aesthetics, exploring the integral relationship between geology, technology, and human craftsmanship.

For the Figulus collection, the designer partnered with lava rock fabricator Ranieri, who operates at the foot of Mount Vesuvius — where the famous eruption that buried Pompeii took place in 79 AD. Similar to his 2025 Arnardo collection, the new collection is characterized by the inflated, fluid shapes signature to Pike’s work. However, unlike the previous line’s mirror-polished steel makeup, Pike opted for a glazed finish, which has to be fired in a kiln. This part of the process doubles down on the centrality of fire to the collection, not only in the form of volcanic eruption but also in its creative potential in crafts like ceramics.

Available in different colors upon request, the finished product’s aesthetic qualities were largely dictated by the material’s production limitations. Each piece features horizontal lines, showing where the design had to be broken down into smaller components to fit in Ranieri’s kilns. Speaking to the detail in an interview with Hypebeast, Pike said, “That’s just a way of showing the process of the material in the final piece, which I’m really keen to do wherever possible. With all this kind of work, I find it’s about trying to bring out the character of the maker, the material, or even myself — a combination of all of these in the final piece.”

The process-driven approach is heavily influenced by Pike’s background studying mechanical engineering at Edinburgh College. “Anything where I had to write a lot or remember a lot I struggled with, whereas anything about process and understanding a concept, like math and physics, I really enjoyed,” he recalled. Having discovered his love for furniture prototyping in school, the designer began his career working under firms like Francis Sultana, Peter Mikic Interiors, Barber Osgerby, and more. All of this culminated in the founding of his eponymous studio, exclusively represented by STUDIOTWENTYSEVEN.

“With all this kind of work, I find it’s about trying to bring out the character of the maker, the material, or even myself — a combination of all of these in the final piece.” — Paddy Pike

While Pike is not the first designer to use lava rock in his work, it’s the designer’s methodology and unconventional execution that distinguishes the Figulus collection. As seen in his earlier works, the designer utilizes a mixture of VR sculpting techniques and AI-assisted rendering to bring his monumental ideas to life. “A lot of my work involves finding new ways to use materials that either haven’t been manufactured in that way before or haven’t been used for that purpose before,” he explained. In addition to lava rock being seldom used for furniture in design history, the technologies he deploys in the process add another layer of novelty to the final product.

Using VR programs like Gravity Sketch, Pike uses controllers to mold his 3D clay into usable furniture, reducing and refining each design to its final form. He compares the VR creative process to working “somewhere where there are no windows and no clocks.” “I just put some music on or a podcast, and I can spend like hours and hours in there,” the designer said. “You can pull the material, you can stretch it. You’ve got the benefits of it being a computer, so you can duplicate, scale, and you can do all sorts of crazy things with it. Due to the nature of it being like clay, it all becomes very smooth and organic.”

Pike has also been very open about how he has utilized AI tools to help visualize his ambitious concepts, often sharing his AI renders on Instagram. “The way I see AI is that it’s just another tool, much like 3D modeling, or even a pencil on paper. All of these things are just parts of the process that take it from an idea to having a physical piece in front of you,” he said. He sees it as his responsibility not to let AI fully take the wheel or lead him to “lose touch with the reality of creating a piece.” “I saw the massive benefit it had in my work because I could show clients really realistic images of work that I’m going to make. It’s part of my job to make sure that the images of things I want to make are realistic to what will actually be made,” he expressed.

As tools like VR and generative AI advance in their capabilities, the designer’s work sits confidently at the center of tech-assisted design and the preservation of craftsmanship rooted in physical reality. While exploring the unprecedented potential of new creative technologies, Pike’s foundation in engineering grounds his work in pragmatism and human ingenuity.

Follow Pike on Instagram at @paddypikestudio to stay up to date on his latest work and visit STUDIOTWENTYSEVEN for more information on the Figulus collection.