With our cork retreat project well underway on site amidst the vineyards of Piedmont, we’ve been thinking about the wider capabilities of bark in the design world, and how this cross-disciplinary knowledge can feed into how we push its potential in architecture. We sat down with four practitioners to hear how bark is increasingly gaining traction as a fashionable, sustainable and versatile material.

 

Dr Peter Gasson – Research Leader at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

We visited the Jodrell Lab at Kew Gardens to investigate the scientific profile of bark with Dr Peter Gasson, an expert in tree species across the globe.

‘Bark is essentially a protective barrier for the tree. The Cerrado is a kind of woody savannah in Brazil and the trees here have incredibly thick walls of bark which protects the tree in a biome prone to forest fires. This is an evolutionary trait, where species have adapted to periodic extremities. Wrapping the circumference of every tree trunk is a thin ring known as the vascular cambium. Everything outside this layer is what you would call bark, so that’s a secondary phloem which transports the sugars up through the tree, cortex which is mainly basic cells and the periderm which are the corky layers on the outside.’

 

Charlett Wenig – Scientist and Product Designer

Product designer, Charlett Wenig investigates the potential of biomaterials; reincarnating something undervalued into beautiful sculpture, garments and objects. We spoke to Charlett from her Berlin studio following the realisation of her recent bark jacket designs.

‘Not all barks are the same, most trees die when the bark is cultivated. So I only use responsibly sourced bark, which I harvest myself. 5-20% of a tree is composed of bark and therefore a huge proportion of the tree is wasted, with most of this getting burned in a saw mill because currently there are few applications. When creating my textiles, I realised the tree has to be filled with water. I used pine bark and an old conservation sealant to retain the moisture, otherwise it would become very brittle. Alongside my colleague, Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten, we fashioned our first jacket. The motivation for creating textiles was to replicate the protective properties bark has for trees, but for ourselves. Flexible bark feels almost like leather when water glycol solution is applied.’

 

Jacob Schroll – Architect

There is much to learn from ancient construction methods. Jacob Schroll, a preservationist with the Bergen City Museum, has become well versed in the traditional use of bark within Norwegian typologies.

‘…Bark was most commonly used as roofing of domestic buildings because of its waterproof characteristics, with turf being applied on top offering insulation. The traditional construction method is to layer up 6 sheets of bark, all overlapping and pinned down by the weight of the turf. This is a time-consuming process and labour intensive. There are examples of people restoring buildings today in Norway who are incredibly careful about removing bark roofing because they’re very aware of the reusable value of it. Circa 515 B.C. items such as baskets, shoes and hats have been uncovered formed from bark in Austria and Nordic Europe.’

 

Lara Bohinc – Designer

Lara Bohinc is a London based designer who was commissioned to create public furniture for Miami Design District, and was immediately drawn to the eco friendly credentials of cork.

The sculptures are indicative of public art that breathes life into previously underutilised urban realms. ‘The brief was to create a vibrant installation where people can rest and children can play. It was essential that they could withstand tropical weather, torrential rain and hot sun. As the installation is temporary I wanted to use materials that were reusable and natural that could have a life beyond the original use.’Lara’s work is a timely reminder of the pro activity necessary in making our cities more accommodating and user friendly. How considered materials, thoughtful design and life after use can shape how we experience a space and understand the world around us.