Current Inspiration #21

April marks Earth month, which felt appropriate for creating a special edition for Current Inspiration #21.

While we typically take the time to share the latest brands, practices, cultural happenings, etc that are inspiring us, we thought we would dedicate this edition to a specific subject that is inspiring us in a multitude of ways - Cork. Yes, cork, the bark from the cork oak tree. This incredibly resilient and versatile material is regenerative, recyclable, biodegradable, bio-sourced…basically, it's natural and it's a really great material alternative for many applications in the built environment. Offering nearly endless possibilities for products and use cases, we are diving into the fascinating world of this magical material!

Cork, Beyond the Wine

As one of the most regenerative materials in our current world, cork is a material with so many positive attributes. To begin, cork comes from the bark of the cork oak tree. Almost everyone is familiar with this material as the wine industry drives the production of bottle stoppers, which is the most common use of cork. But it really has so much more to offer, especially for the built environment where we continue to explore innovative applications of the material.

Some of its most compelling benefits for buildings are its thermal and acoustic insulation properties, its durability and its overall eco-friendliness. This material is not only biodegradable and recyclable, but it's a very resilient material that is known for its high performance ability and resistance capabilities. Bonus is that it is extremely simple to clean and maintain.

Most commonly found in Mediterranean countries, the harvesting process is fascinating since it is done without cutting down, damaging or doing any harm to the tree, completed in 9 year cycles. And the best part is that nothing is wasted with cork; what isn't used as bottle stoppers and left as waste is actually repurposed into materials for the built environment and beyond.

An Acoustic Dream

And one of the byproducts of cork “waste” is material for cork floors. As we built the vision for #LoireDesignLab, one of the first materials we knew we had to use was cork. Working closely with a local French vendor, we were introduced to Wicanders Wise, which is a cork floor company from Portugal.

They are leaders in the cork flooring and wall coverings space, offering a variety of innovative solutions for these types of applications. We've been so eager to experiment with the material, and while we originally started with the idea of just doing floors in one room, we ultimately opted for these floors in the office and two bedrooms, and even plan to test out a wall-covering application in the office.

We've been impressed with the floating floor application, the softness when you walk on it, and the undeniable acoustic difference in the spaces. We'll report back more findings with progress on our living showroom.

Bioclimatic Expertise in Barcelona

We would be remiss not to mention an excellent resource to expand your understanding of cork in the built environment: our podcast! Last season, we had the great pleasure of speaking with founder and architect, Elisabetta Quarta Colosso of El Fil Verd based in Barcelona.

Her extensive work as a bioclimatic architecture means that she has significant experience working with cork, particularly in building construction. We won't give too much away, but it's definitely an episode to tune into. And if you want to dive deeper into her work with cork, one of her incredible Passive House projects in Barcelona where she used cork as a building facade was featured on one of our favorite Youtube channels.

The Future at Home Featuring Cork

Image Credit Ed Reeve

By this point, our own enthusiasm for cork should be apparent. We are fans of the material and know that it will serve as an important alternative material moving into the future as we all find new ways to combat climate change and explore building resiliency. So we were excited to see that at this year's Milan Design Week, there was an inspiring installation from Cork Collective, whose founders include Rockwell Group, Amorim (umbrella company of Wicanders Wise from above), Bluewell & Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits.

This collective came together to explore the opportunity of repurposing cork into innovative products and how it can help fuel the circular economy (cork can be recycled and reused many times over). Their installation was called Casa Cork, which was “a living laboratory showcasing design innovation of one of the world’s most sustainable materials.”

Though we didn't get the chance to see it in person as planned, we've heard rumors that the installation will be moved around different cities!