Vitra: Cork Table

For Vitra, Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec have designed an office system entirely made of cork, a naturally grown, sustainable material with properties that make it ideal for a workspace: sound-buffering, warm and pleasant to touch.

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Vitra presented a modular system for office designed by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec during the last edition of the Orgatec office fair. The Cork Table seeks to create space for concentration in the midst of an active work environment, and was born out of a two-year process in which the Bouroullec brothers set out to explore new layouts to facilitate active working within limited space.

The Cork Table consists of a vast tabletop divided into semi-private workspaces, which are defined by vertical panels that slice up from the ground, through the platform, to form a series of walls between people working at the table. However, by slightly tilting the side panels, the design provides for different perspectives — gaps, for example, allow two people sitting transversally in front of each other to communicate. Otherwise, the individual workstations are well-enveloped by the side panels, enabling concentrated work, even if people are densely assembled along one single table.

The Cork Table also introduces the use of a new material — cork, a naturally grown, sustainable material — into office spaces. Its sound-buffering properties, along with its warmth, allow it to create a cozy atmosphere in the office. "Thanks to cork, these rather dense workstations become friendly, unfamiliar creatures," state the Bouroullec brothers, "that create a pleasant and relaxed environment for intense work."