Driving through Portugal’s mountainous Pedrógão Grande area during the 2017 fires inspired French designer Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance to dream up a furniture collection using discarded burnt cork. Produced through his Portgual–based studio Made in Situ, the sculptural pieces are crafted from the charred bark remains of a harvest—a technique used to protect the “sobreiro,” or cork oak tree.
After two years of experimentation, Noé developed a series of hand-made burnt cork blocks that serve as the structural elements of the chairs and tables, playing with the material’s rougher textures typically designated as industrial waste. The result is a visceral collection of chairs, tables, and a stool that pays tribute to the beauty and resilience of the country’s inimitable cork forests, the largest in the world.
