Burnt Cork collection by Made In SITU
Design journeys rooted in
the treasures of Portugal.
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Hello, design junkies!
Today’s project is very unique! We are thrilled to present you the Burnt Cork collection made by the talented Made In Situ Studio. This collection of Made in Situ pays tribute to Portuguese Cork and is an ode to the resilience of material, of people, of process.
While moving to Portugal, Noé drove through the dramatic fires of summer 2017. This visceral experience resonated deeply.
From calcined bark to fine grain, from rawness to fluid curves evoking a caress, the Burnt Cork collection plays with dichotomies. Discarded burnt cork is transformed into custom gradient blocks, then carved to reveal a tactile & sculptural creation.
Copyrights: Mate In Situ.
In 2018 Noé and the Made in Situ team started the journey of exploration, meeting with artisans from Alentejo and Algarve. In Faro, they came across a small family-owned cork production facility. During the tour of the facilities, observing the process from cork bark to block, Noé noticed a large pile of discarded burnt cork. Once harvested, the burnt barrier is peeled from the tree, giving way for the next layers of cork to grow. However, the burnt harvest is usually left behind by the modern-day cork industry.
These facts created a resonance and, the idea of new creation from the fires was born. It was an opportunity to transform the scrapped remnants. Noé left Faro with the desire to create a unique material from Burnt Cork leftovers, combining it with the traditional cork block technique of NF Cork.
Copyrights: Mate In Situ.
The blocks are specifically composed of a defined gradient of cork granules between coarse and fine. Their structure gives birth to the design. All the collection flows upwards in the same direction, a raw gradation from natural catastrophe to fluid anthropomorphic curves.
Noé purposefully choose to keep the pure form of the granulated block visible as far into the objects as possible. At the basis of the furniture, where the granules are larger and the raw material exposed, the charcoal from the burnt cork is present; this tactility connects directly to the DNA of the material itself.
Copyrights: Mate In Situ.
This collection is something of an anomaly, symbolic of the phoenix rising from the ashes and is comprised of a dining chair, lounge chair, chaise-longue, dining table, two low tables, and a stool. Every furniture piece exhibits the marks of its history.
If you enjoyed this article, you should check out our article about our Elena Salmistraro.
