The one from a joint production between the Chinese artists Ai Weiwei and the architectural office Herzog & de Meuron is now going into series production at ClassiCon. The contemporary collaboration relies on sustainable production with functional design and shows the natural material cork in a completely new light.
Swiss architecture firm presents sustainable Corker
The Swiss architects' office is known for projects such as the Tate Gallery of Modern Art in London, the Pérez Art Museum in Miami and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. The office regularly attracts media attention, especially with innovative public buildings such as stadiums and museums.
The Corker is now the first product of the office to go into series production at ClassiCon. As the name suggests, the sustainable design object is made of dark cork with universal uses. Whether as a stool or table in three different sizes. The idea came about while working on the design of the Serpentine Pavilion in 2012 together with the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. The design is inspired by the outline of an everyday object: the bottle cork.
Source & Copyright by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei, Photographer Luke Hayes
"Because we were working with cork and wanted a stool to make the pavilion as flexible as possible, it seemed obvious to use the shape of a cork as a model. Everyone knows this shape, everyone has opened a champagne bottle and held these small, squat cork objects in their hands held," says Jacques Herzog.
Pop art object puts natural material in the limelight
The cork used in Portugal for production comes from local, sustainable forest management, is biodegradable and also 100% recyclable. Originally, Herzog & de Meuron needed a flexible yet contemporary stool for the project. Cork is easily milled and malleable, which was very useful for further processing. cork is as bast fiber also warm and soft, which makes it comfortable and a good prerequisite for a grounding furniture with a velvety feel.
Source & Copyright by ClassiCon, Photographer Elias Hassos
The flexibility of the design object is also important and particularly important with the Corker. Founder Jacques Herzog himself would use the Corker in very different ways in different places in his house. The idea came about quite naturally and almost naively and less with the intention of creating a sophisticated object Industrial Design. A supposedly simple stool thus embodies living and living luxury combined with the aspect of sustainability.
