13 October 2011

For the Love of Cork

Materia is an international design collaboration exploring and promoting the design possibilities of cork.

Contemporary designers have increasingly begun embracing cork as a material – recent examples include Benjamin Hubert's Float lamp, Tomek Archer's Kompact Stool and Jasper Morrison's designs for moooi, Vitra and Cappellini.

As the only tree whose bark can regenerate itself after harvest – allowing a typical cork oak tree to be harvested up to 20 times during its life cycle – cork is a vital sustainable resource. In Portugal, which produces more than half of the world's cork, strong emphasis is placed on maintaining cork plantations and promoting the material's value.

Parte by Nendo

In 2010 the world's largest cork company, the Portuguese-based Amorim, invited design cooperative Experimentadesign to devise an initiative that raised the profile of cork and explored bold new uses of the material.

Torno by Inga Sempé

Senta by Fernando Brizio

Pinha by Raw Edges

This led to Materia, a collection of 22 objects by 10 designers. Functionality and personality were the 2 key components of the brief. Designers were encouraged to consider the aesthetic, technical and sustainable benefits of cork, all the while creating with the end user in mind.

Par by Nendo

Rufo by Studio Pedrita

Pino by Daniel Caramelo

Lasca by Marco Sousa Santos

Unveiled at the 2011 Milan Furniture Fair, Materia brings cork into the everyday – a tactile, useful albeit quirky assortment of objects that allows cork to be seen from an entirely new perspective.