David Rockwell's Milan Design Week presentation expresses a heartfelt nod to cork in its design.
At Milan Design Week 2025, Rockwell Group, in collaboration with Corticeira Amorim, unveiled Casa Cork - a cork haven that celebrates the versatility, sustainability, and innovative potential of this natural material.
The exhibition's dramatic centrepiece is a six-foot replica of a cork tree, clad in virgin cork bark, created by Spanish workshop Factum Arte. This installation serves as a metaphor for the tree of life, symbolising sustainability.
Inside Casa Cork, visitors are greeted by a variety of cork products, including tiebacks, sconces, parquet, a chandelier, bar, fabrics, tiles, and wall covers. One of the highlights is the 'Krystyna Luminaire' lampshade, which demonstrates the fire-retardant properties of virgin cork.
Vignettes house cork curios from designers like the Campana Brothers, Tom Dixon, Made in Situ by Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance, and Artemest. The exhibition also features pieces from a student design competition, such as 'Desculpe Desculpe', a cork headpiece for gallery spaces, and 'Krystyna Luminaire', a lampshade textured with virgin cork.
Casa Cork underscores the benefits of using cork as a sustainable material in architecture and design. Cork is a renewable material harvested from cork oak trees without harming them, making it an eco-friendly choice that supports responsible forestry and reduces environmental impact.
The installation is a platform for celebrating cork’s innovative potential, combining design creativity with eco-conscious material practice, engaging both established designers and emerging talent. Rockwell emphasises that sustainability is a cornerstone of good design and is open to designers using sustainable materials.
Casa Cork showcases various possibilities for the use of cork in designs beyond traditional products. Rockwell Group's partnership with Cork Collective aims to repurpose wine corks from restaurants, hotels, and stores in New York for community projects.
David Rockwell, founder of Rockwell Group, is 'obsessed' with cork and believes it to be one of the best materials due to its unique properties and aging process. He views the student design competition as an opportunity to be a thought starter for designers to take small steps towards making things better.
Casa Cork is more than just an exhibition. It's an interactive, communal hub where visitors can have a coffee, order a drink, or attend live discussions. For Rockwell, it's about making a difference by finding areas where designers and architects can contribute positively, particularly in the underutilized resource of wine corks.
Cork is one of the world's most sustainable materials as it comes from the harvested bark of the cork oak, can be recycled repeatedly, and sequesters CO2 for decades. Rockwell Group's Casa Cork is a testament to the power of design in promoting sustainability and pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved with this remarkable material.
[References] 1. Rockwell Group 2. Corticeira Amorim 3. Cork Collective
- Casa Cork, an interactive hub by Rockwell Group and Corticeira Amorim, showcases the versatility of cork, a sustainable material, in home-and-garden, interior-design, and lifestyle and encourages sustainable living by using eco-friendly designs and materials.
- Beyond traditional products, Casa Cork demonstrates the adaptability of cork in modern designs, including tiebacks, sconces, fabrics, tiles, and wall covers, and even repurposes wine corks, contributing positively to the environment and promoting sustainable living.
