Directory of Cork Usage in Design and Architecture
- By John Matera
- August 14, 2024
- Architecture
- Blog
- Cork Applications
- Design
Featured image is “The finished Cork House,” photographer Ricky Jones, © Matthew Barnett Howland, from Cork Construction
This directory showcases designers and architects worldwide who are discovering—or rediscovering—the advantages of building with beautiful, practical, and renewable cork. See how cork can deliver on your clients’ demands for sustainability and environmental friendliness while expanding your possibilities for creating striking exteriors and interiors. Learn more about the Amazing Natural Properties of Cork .
Send us articles on more projects that utilize cork if you would like to have them posted here.
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LCA Architetti nestles angular cork-clad home into Italian valley
Last, K. (2024). LCA Architetti nestles angular cork-clad home into Italian valley. Dezeen. https://www.dezeen.com/2024/02/28/lca-architetti-angular-cork-clad-home-italy/
Abstract: “An angular black volume sits atop a cork-clad ground floor to form Casa 9, a home that Italian studio LCA Architetti has added to a valley on the border between Italy and Switzerland. Located within a hilly landscape near Lake Lugano, the house was designed to showcase non-traditional building materials and features a timber structure as well as metal and cork cladding. In response to the landscape and surrounding houses, LCA Architetti designed the home to have a low-lying form, comprising a rectilinear cork-clad ground floor as well as a more angular upper level, which features a standing-seam metal roof and wall.”
Five architect-designed homes that put cork to different uses
Coates, A. (2023). Five architect-designed homes that put cork to different uses. Designs in Detail. https://www.designsindetail.com/articles/five-architect-designed-homes-that-put-cork-to-different-uses
Abstract: “Cork is a natural and renewable material that has become increasingly popular with architects in recent years. Cork building products offer several benefits, including thermal and acoustic insulation, fire resistance, moisture resistance, and durability. They are also lightweight and easy to work with, making them a perfect fit for many interior and exterior applications. Overall, cork building products offer a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to traditional building materials. They can help create healthy and comfortable living environments, while also reducing the carbon footprint of building projects.”
Applying Exposed Cork in Interior Architecture
Cortés, C. V. (2023). Applying Exposed Cork in Interior Architecture. Arch Daily. https://www.archdaily.com/960854/applying-exposed-cork-in-interior-architecture
Abstract: “How can we transport ourselves to natural environments when we are in completely urban situations? The materiality of our surroundings is an important factor that determines the atmosphere we inhabit. In many cases, the use of natural materials in interior architecture can help evoke nature in our daily spaces. In this article, we will specifically analyze the effect that cork has as a special resource in the design of interior spaces.”
Building with Cork
Gué, V., (2021). Building with Cork. Critical Concrete. https://criticalconcrete.com/building-with-cork/
Abstract: “Cork has some remarkable qualities and can be used for many different purposes, it is even applied in space as thermal insulator for space shuttles. It is light, durable, elastic, waterproof, fire retardant and has great insulation properties. Furthermore, it is 100% reusable. The structure is composed out of tiny gas-filled cells, creating a huge disproportion between the volume and the weight of the material, more than half of its volume is air. These properties make cork incredibly useful as a building material, whether as flooring, insulation sheets or surface finish. The cork can have different shapes: insulation panels, coatings flooring, cork stoppers, composite agglomerates, raw material. If the material is used raw and 100% natural (if the process is free from chemical substances), it can provide an ecological alternative to conventional solutions, not least because of the barks ability to absorb CO2 during the regeneration process. Regularly harvested cork trees store 3 to 5 times more CO2 than those left unharvested.”
Cork Construction
Wilton, O., & Howland, M. B. (2020). Cork Construction Kit. The Journal of Architecture, 25(2), 138–165. https://doi.org/10.1080/13602365.2020.1733812
Abstract: “This article reports on the research and development of a radically simple new form of solid, dry-jointed construction made of expanded cork and engineered timber. It has outstanding whole life performance, and the potential to help sustain biodiverse landscapes, and create buildings with exceptionally low whole life carbon emissions. Building blocks made of cork forestry waste interlock for quick and easy assembly, creating buildings that are low-energy to inhabit and simple to disassemble at the end of the building’s life for reuse. The project investigates an architectural language of cork stereotomy as a progressive reimagining of historic dry-stone construction.”
Wine Be Damned, Cork Is For Building
Brownell, B. Wine Be Damned, (2018) Cork Is For Building. Architect Magazine, https://www.architectmagazine.com/practice/wine-be-damned-cork-is-for-building_o
Abstract: “From flooring to façades, cork has entered the product arena as an environmentally friendly, viable construction option. …Cork’s use in buildings is nothing new. In fact, ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans used cork for various functions, including building insulation, ship flotation, and footwear. …Today, cork has rebounded thanks to three critical factors: higher quality processed material, increased public awareness about its environmental performance, and market diversification to sectors including architecture and design.”
Proof That Cork Can Be a Beautiful and Practical Design Practice
Allen, E. (2017). Proof That Cork Can Be a beautiful and Practical Design Practice. Architectural Digest HOMES + DECOR
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/cork-beautiful-practical-design-practice
Abstract: “Cork has taken a few stops on its winding journey to showstopping interior design element: From the wine industry as bottle-stoppers (its most common and most lucrative use), then to badminton shuttlecocks and bulletin boards, next to a purely functional use in architecture as sub-flooring and insulation, and finally the walls, ceilings and floors in the homes featured in AD. The woody material’s pragmatic use in architecture is well deserved because of its elastic, cellular structure, its thermal-regulating and soundproofing qualities, and its natural resistance to fire, but it’s the cork’s natural warm hue and subtly dappled texture that are the secret to its modern design success. The versatile material can be dyed or painted (and still maintain its speckled look), it can be applied to walls and ceilings, and its inherent durability make it a prime choice for floors. Here, AD explores the varied uses of cork in spaces like one of Seth Meyers’s dressing rooms, a summer house designed by Thom Filicia, and the modernist home of GQ‘s Fred Woodward.”
The Future of Materials: 7 Quirky Buildings Clad in Cork
Hogue, P. (undated). The Future of Materials: 7 Quirky Buildings Clad in Cork. Architizer. https://architizer.com/blog/inspiration/collections/future-of-materials-quirky-cork-cladding/
Abstract: “…Yet, the qualities that have made cork a choice material for civilizations can also surprisingly be applied to architecture. As a lightweight, impermeable, sustainable and durable material with incredible insulation capabilities, cork is a surprisingly versatile material in the construction field. In the past few years, architects have truly started to put cork to the test, and the results are pointing toward limitless potential. As the seven ‘corky’ buildings below illustrate, we should start asking the question: could cork become the mass-scale construction material of the future?”
Could Cork Be Nature’s Answer to Our Environmental and Construction Needs?
Thorns, E. (2017). Could Cork Be Nature’s Answer to Our Environmental and Construction Needs? Arch Daily. https://www.archdaily.com/884983/could-cork-be-natures-answer-to-our-environmental-and-construction-needs
Abstract: “Unbeknown to many, cork is something of a dark horse when it comes to the environment—a model of a sustainable industry and building material. By its very nature, cork is both recyclable and renewable, as it is the only tree that regenerates its bark, while harvesting that bark causes the tree no harm. Cork has been sneaking its way into our buildings for many years now; due to its hard-wearing properties it can be found, for example, in the checkerboard flooring of the Library of Congress. Even NASA has been wise to cork’s light weight and insulation capacity, using it as an insulator for their space shuttles. Only recently have we seen a growing curiosity over cork as an external cladding material for buildings. Despite what many assume, cork is extremely waterproof (why else would we trust it as a stopper for our precious wine), resistant to abrasion, and acts as a fire retardant and an acoustic insulator. Its also has desirable aesthetic qualities, giving buildings mottled earthy tones and natural patterning.”
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