Guta Moura Guedes: Cork is a "living" material, each piece is unrepeatable, and this makes it unique and eternally surprising

Guta Moura Guedes: Cork is a 'living' material, each piece is unrepeatable, and this makes it unique and eternally surprising 18/12/2020

Guta Moura Guedes, co-founder of experimentadesign, is the most well-known Portuguese professional in the international design scene, with an active and intense career, as a curator, creative director, strategist and thinker. She has developed a special relationship with cork, on both an emotional and intellectual level, and has in-depth and intimate knowledge through the projects she has created - Metamorphosis, Materia and now CityCortex. She believes that this 'flexible, adaptable and resilient' material still has much more to offer, and that the future will depend on everyone's contribution, through the process of user innovation

Photograph by Carlos Ramos

What was your first memory / experience of cork?

My first contact was, perhaps, quite typical for a Portuguese person woman, especially for someone who likes nature as I do. My childhood memories include seeing cork oak trees and I soon realised that cork comes from these trees, since I saw the cork bark still on the tree and sometimes, on the ground after it had been stripped. As an adult, I have a memory that marked me immensely and changed my perception of cork in terms of its application in the field of architecture. It was during a visit to a house on Lake Maggiore, in Switzerland, designed by the American architect Marcel Breuer in the 1960s. The house is entirely made of stone, glass and wood, which is evident from the outside. But as I entered, the atmosphere of the house was quite different from what I had expected, with a unique sound quality and aroma, very comfortable and warm. When I looked up at the ceiling, I realised that Breuer had covered it with regular, thick tiles, made of 100% natural, dark cork. This choice changed the entire house in a huge number of dimensions, significantly improving it, which is something that I have never forgotten.

What makes this material so special?

First, the fact that it is natural and sustainable - which is an absolute priority for all of humanity. Next, its texture, soft aroma, comfort and its ability to alter its shape when compressed, to repel water, and offer protection. We are talking about a material that a specific tree, the cork oak tree, produces to protect itself, to become more resistant. It is also special because we can use it without harming the tree, on the contrary. And that is wonderful.

What characteristics of cork would you highlight as being central to contemporary design and architecture?

All of them. From impermeability and thermal and acoustic insulation to its resistance to fire, high temperatures and friction. Its elasticity, compressibility and resilience. The fact that it is hypoallergenic, comfortable and soft to the touch. It has an immense range of characteristics, all of which are important for equipment design, product design and architecture. This Century is all about sustainability and mobility, in which we must design artifacts, buildings and cities that are flexible, adaptable, resilient, comfortable, and interact emotionally and intellectually with our body. Cork, as a material, brings these dimensions to design culture.

First MATERIA, then Metamorphosis and now City Cortex. These are striking projects, with involvement and proximity with cork. After these experiences, does cork still surprise you?

I am still surprised by cork's physical impact on me. I can feel the presence of cork, when it is being used somewhere. That impresses me a lot. The projects that you just mentioned, first Metamorphosis, then MATERIA were, I think, true levers for the innovative use of cork and attracted the attention of thousands of creatives around the world for this material. I clearly remember the day when Corticeira Amorim's CEO, António Amorim, met with me in 2006 at the Casa da Música, where I was Strategic Design and Communications Director, and challenged me to think about how to explore the potential of this material that, at the time, was only being used by relatively few architects and designers. I remember my genuine surprise when I learned all about cork. City Cortex, which will be presented in New York in 2021, will take cork to urban contexts and bring it closer to people in very stimulating and positive ways. I have been following the development of these new projects and yes, I am also surprised by how cork is responding to the imagination of architects and designers. Cork is a 'living' material, each piece is unrepeatable, and this makes it unique and eternally surprising.

Sustainability is undoubtedly a critical issue, absolutely strategic and transversal. In this context, how does cork make a difference, compared to other materials / options?

Cork is a sustainable material that is not artificially produced by humans. It does not depend on an industrial creation process. It is combined with a system that is itself renewable, recyclable and reusable, and is therefore truly environmentally friendly. The montados (cork oak forests) - which include oak trees, holm oak trees, chestnut trees and cork oak trees - actively contribute to the balance of the Mediterranean ecosystem, and form part of one of the world's 36 global biodiversity hotspots, offering an ideal habitat and survival conditions for more than 200 species of fauna and 135 species of flora, and actively helping to combat climate change. All of this makes a huge difference.

Cork is deeply linked to Portuguese identity. But it is also a material with incredible potential, on a global scale. How is this bridge achieved?

It is excellent for a material to be part of a country's identity. In this case, cork and Portugal are an inseparable binomial. But it is even more extraordinary to be able to expand that identity on a global scale. And that is what is being done, from the initial use of cork in stoppers to its present use in floor and wall coverings, spacecraft and everyday objects. This bridge is achieved because the material itself and the way that our national industry has developed, have confirmed its potential as a material of choice for society in general, and for humanity. We were all born in different places, we are all individuals with unique characteristics, but in so many different aspects we are all the same. Everywhere in the world we look for safety, comfort, flexibility, physical and mental well-being, resilience. And cork helps provide that. When it is well designed and used, of course.

Which cork-based applications do you think are most notable and why?

I can't help but start with the beginning, which is the cork stopper. It is so simple, so effective, and so positive for the liquid it protects. A wine is only a good wine when sealed with a cork stopper, in my opinion. I confess that I have a special appreciation for the use of cork in private or public spaces, when it helps improve their acoustic conditions and temperature; when it is used in small objects, that replace equipment or objects made from plastic or other less sustainable materials. I must also say, although I cannot disclose any details, that what we are developing with City Cortex will deliver some new and remarkable applications to cities, where we need so much quality in the area of public and semi-public urban spaces.

How can the potential of cork be expanded?

Corticeira Amorim has done a unique job in the development of several new solutions in which cork is used. It has invited some of the world's greatest creatives and researchers to expand its industrial achievements with them. This dynamic will certainly continue, but in a very short space of time something wonderful will happen, with more expression, based on the idea of user innovation. In other words, as cork gets closer and more well known to everyone, and more people learn about its value and characteristics, the more innovation we will have. This will come from the least expected areas, through the genuine contribution of users, who have tremendous creative capacity. The fact that the world in general is finally aware of the need for sustainability will lead people everywhere to pay more attention to sustainable materials. And the 'do it yourself' spirit will contribute to expand the use of this unique material, which has so much to give us.