Cork chair cover
The Portuguese designer Marta Sande Castro designed and developed a natural colour agglomerated cork cover for Rion chairs, created by the Italian Radice Orlandini Design Studio in 2012.
Taking advantage of the balance between the chair’s complete and empty structure elements, the designer created a completely smooth cork cover on one side and embossed on the other. This layout allows the cover to fit perfectly on the chair’s structure, preserving its lightness while making it even more comfortable.
Manufactured in aluminium with a lacquered finish, the Rion chair, which served as a starting point for this project, is a creation of the designers Andrea Radice e Folco Orlandini for Fast, a furniture brand. Marta Sande Castro worked with the white version, but the model is available in eight colours.
Manufactured in aluminium with a lacquered finish, the Rion chair, which served as a starting point for this project, is a creation of the designers Andrea Radice e Folco Orlandini for Fast, a furniture brand. Marta Sande Castro worked with the white version, but the model is available in eight colours.
The cork chair cover project was the winner of a competition launched by the Associação de Designers do Sul (South Region Designers Association), which supports professionals who develop their activity in that region. The aim was to create 100 chair covers for the chairs of Tertúlia Algarvia restaurant, located in Faro.
The Association required that the covers evoke elements associated with the region and the designer’s idea to make use of cork, a raw material deeply rooted in the culture of Algarve, was selected and implemented. With the covers currently in use, their comfort along with the cork’s visual and practical look are the biggest draw for the client.
“I had never worked with cork before but I chose this regional and sustainable material because it has enough flexibility to adapt to the shape of the chair. The cork also provides softness and a comfortable feeling and since it is impermeable it is easy to clean and also offers durability which were essential requirements for the restaurant.”
Once the prototype was tested and optimized, the two parts that make up the cover of the Rion chair were produced from cork provided by Amorim Cork Composites using CNC machining.
Through a computer-aided arm, this technology allows to change the material’s geometry and to easily create bent parts or complex three-dimensional structures with highly accurate results and high-quality finishes.
The cork’s sensory and functional attributes, coupled with a wide range of possibilities created by technologies such as CNC machining, moulding or lamination, have sparked creativity of developers and designers in the furniture industry all over the world, thus pathing the way to the development of new pieces that combine aesthetics, design and functionality.
The technique allows to create more complex shapes than milling
Enables very accurate, high-quality finishes
Suitable for high and medium density materials
Reduces the need for human intervention in the production process
Increases production speed and accuracy
Marta Sande Castro is a young Portuguese designer graduated in Interior Design and Decorative Arts by the School of Decorative Arts (ESAD) in Lisbon. Adopting an ecological and sustainable design approach, she works mostly with natural and recycled raw materials. Her creative process features an in-depth study of materials and their related craftsmanship techniques with the aim of developing new approaches and products.
Established in 2008 by Andrea Radice (1979) and Folco Orlandini (1972), the Radice Orlandini Design Studio is a renowned Italian studio that has and still works for several prestigious brands such as Alivar, Caoscreo, Domitalia, Dorelan, Fast, Infiniti, Metalmobil, MyHomeCollection, Schuster and Skitsch. Remarkable for the combination of aesthetics and functionality, the duo has had several award-winning pieces, such as chairs ‘Phantom’ and ‘Infiniti Drop’ or ‘Bouchon’ stool, with its cork seat.