Cork, which is harvested from a special type of oak, is a very versatile material. It’s history tells a story of harmony between human and nature. In regions where cork is cultivated the environment gains huge benefits from the trees. Since the decline of cork cultivation various animal and plant species are threatened.
Within this short term project Philipp became fascinated by the abundance which the cork oak offers to us. Foremost he became interested by the cork’s ability to glue itself under certain conditions.
This characteristic of the material only reveals itself when the cork is exposed to high pressure and heat.
After the cork is cut into pieces, it is pressed between two metal moulds. The material is then baked and expands inside the mould. At a certain temperature the cork releases its own biopolymer ‘suberin’ – a waxy, water repellant substance. This natural plastic binds the cork pieces together. When opening the mould afterwards the material has taken it’s negative shape.