Natural material cork celebrates comeback

Natural material cork celebrates comeback

Casa Cork Milan, Rendering
A tree, built with reclaimed cork bark, is at the centre of "Casa Cork". / © Rockwell Group

Cork everywhere. On the walls, the floor, the ceiling, even furniture and decorative objects are made from this renewable raw material. Because at Milan Design Week, the material with the somewhat dusty image is taking centre stage in the "Casa Cork". 

The international architecture and design firm Rockwell Group - which also has an office in Madrid - has collaborated with the non-profit Cork Collective and the cork processor Corticeira Amorim to create Casa Cork, a kind of showroom that will be on display at Milan Design Week 2025 (from 8-13 April).


There, visitors can explore the material in all possible processing methods. The centrepiece of Casa Cork is a lifelike replica of a cork tree made from reclaimed cork bark. The world of cork can be explored in a sensory gallery; a workshop tells the story of the origins of cork and the possibilities that the material offers. 


In the salon with bar and event room, visitors can taste wines, eat together and take part in discussions about design and a waste-free future. These will be curated by New York design journalist Tiffany Jow. Participants in these discussions include developers of the Casa Cork concept and leading figures from the fields of architecture, fashion, food and design.


The finalists of the Cork Collective Student Design Competition will also be exhibiting their work here. The competition invites students to experiment with cork. The participants from the Parsons School of Design (New York) and the Politecnico di Milano will develop concepts in spring atelier courses. / red

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