Ideas and Inspirations surrounding the "Cork Booth"

As IDS09 begins tomorrow, you'll have to wait until then to see this remarkable booth. Until then, here is a bit about the booth and where the design came from ...

By: Levitt Goodman Architects

"The Collaborations space interweaves the great and long history of cork with a contemporary aesthetic that will allow both design professionals and consumers to appreciate the material in an entirely new way. The design is the outcome of the knowledge gained by both Megan Cassidy and Janna Levitt, the team from Levitt Goodman, as they began to learn the multitude of ways in which cork has been utilized over the past few centuries; the ways in which it is harvested and manufactured, the natural resins embodied in cork and the inherent sustainability of the product from collection to point of sale. In addition, the Jelinek family has been associated with cork for many generations and are passionate about their product. The showroom in Oakville has an extensive archive of historic objects utilizing cork which they shared with Levitt Goodman. In addition, the company is investing considerable R and D into new and innovative uses for the product and some of these are also incorporated into the booth.

As architects and designers it is rare to be able to immerse ourselves in a material that offers such a host of design possibilities and this became an intriguing challenge: how to draw out some of the properties of an age-old material that has a deep routed legacy in the development of glass containers (bottle stops); marine applications (buoys, floats, boat hold insulation etc.). The blackened cork featured as the main material in the carved sculptural forms is in fact an insulation material, used primarily in both ships, to maintain cool temperatures and spaces that have high humidity. The natural resins which in the tree form are like sap, serves as a bond which, when heated, browns the natural material and produces an satisfying burnt wood smell. We were so intrigued by the transformation capable by this humble material that we wanted to bring this to the forefront and get others as intrigues and excited by its beauty, texture, and gorgeous scent. In addition we were excited by the idea that cork can be “carved”, layered, broken, laminated. We began by imagining a solid block of the material as wide and tall and deep as the booth, to which we then began to literally carve away a variety of spatial experiences. We wanted to create an almost soft cave like place where one can pause and that this would be a generous moment of quiet within the overwhelming sensory experience of the IDS. With cork, Levitt Goodman Architects establishes a dialogue with the IDS visitor, allowing them to re-examine their ideas about the capacity of cork to provide a host of architectural experiences. Through notions of “excavation”, “peeling” and “edges” the viewer is offered a space that heightens ones olfactory, tactile, and auditory experiences. These are only some of the potential qualities inherent in the raw material. The cork booth overall is conceived of as a grand piece within which are craggy, carved places of entry. The rough-hewn cork edges convey the idea of this cavern-like space and express’s the beauty the material in its raw form. Most of all, the space creates a place of pause, an aromatic space that invites the viewer to experience cork in a host of carefully curated moments."