Boisbuchet — Amorim, International Cork Competition
Workshop for competition
organized by Vitra Design Museum and Domaine de Boisbuchet
in partnership with Corticeira Amorim
Boisbuchet, France, September 2012

The international community of designers and architects was challenged to design new and innovative uses for cork products or improve the existing portfolio of cork-based products. From a total of 367 submissions, arrived from 39 different countries, 20 were short listed and invited to participate in a specialized workshop at Domaine de Boisbuchet. The goal of the workshop was to develop prototypes of the selected ideas. Ana Loskiewicz, a Polish designer, was the winner of the competition. Ana designed CORK BEEHIVE, a modern beehive, drastically innovating one of the most ancient uses of cork, in complete symbiosis with nature. According to Anna Loskiewicz, this modern beehive model fits in the spirit of a sustainable urban landscape such as New York or London, cities where beekeeping is becoming increasingly popular. In view of the relevance of the designs and the high quality of the resulting prototype, it was also decided to give five honorable mentions to the following finalist projects: Cork, a material with many faces, by Fabio Molinas; Cork Chair, by Sou Fujimoto Architects, Songs; headphones by Pauline Ariaux & Jacopo Ferrari; Strip, an electric plug by Natalia Suwalski; and Day off, a cool box by Zaven studio.
The jury was made up of representatives of Corticeira Amorim, Alexander von Vegesack (a representative of Domaine de Boisbuchet and Vitra Design Museum), Gabriele Pezzini (Hermès design consultant – Paris), Cathleen O‘Rourke (Director for Europe of Parsons the New School for Design – Paris), Luisa González-Portillo (Coordinator of the IED Master and Academic Director of Domaine de Boisbuchet), and Rita João and Pedro Ferreira.

More about the finalist projects here.

Photo credit: Mauricio Freyre
Photo credit: Mauricio Freyre