Decoding nature, building ideas

Philippe Starck, the architect and designer behind some of the most iconic pieces for brands such as Kartell and Alessi, has now been invited to collaborate with another leading company, Corticeira Amorim. With curatorial guidelines established by Lisbon-based experimentadesign, this newly developed project called City Cortex will allow the visionary creative to use an unprecedented material in his portfolio: cork.

Starck infiltrated the Amorim universe. He visited the factories and showrooms in the North of Portugal, where the company deploys all its know-how to create cork-based products that have been revolutionising the way we perceive and use this material for several years.

© Ricardo Gonçalves

Corticeira Amorim acts within an extremely vast universe, positioning cork as the most sustainable and versatile raw-material there is. This visit provided Philippe Starck with a notion of how broadly cork is used today, from cork stoppers improved by cutting edge technology, to implementations into spaceships and rockets, large infrastructure, floor and wall coverings and objects for everyday use.

Challenged to design a cutting-edge urban project, by the end of the day Starck was already collecting thoughts and ideas on how to make use of this extraordinary material. There is so much more to cork than wine bottle stoppers, and Starck’s contribution to the several possible applications of the cork will undoubtedly mark a new turning point for this industry.

© Ricardo Gonçalves

© Ricardo Gonçalves