Solid cork blocks stacked like oversized bricks rise from a timber deck in the grounds of a former farmhouse in southern Portugal, forming a demountable cork pavilion. The walls hold no glue, and the whole structure can be taken apart and rebuilt elsewhere.
Antwerp-based studio Corkinho has unveiled its latest “still room,” a demountable cork pavilion dedicated to quiet, slow activity. It sits in the grounds of a holiday villa designed by Manuel Aires Mateus.
The still room is intended for reading, yoga, tea ceremonies and meditation. Its purpose is silence.
For another take on pavilions that reshape how a space feels, see Guadalajara’s mirror-panelled pavilion blurring reality, which plays with perception in a very different material language.
Corkinho built it at Casa No Tempo, a former farmhouse in southern Portugal. Aires Mateus converted the farmhouse into a holiday home in 2014 for hospitality entrepreneur João Rodrigues.
Building the Demountable Cork Pavilion
Lead designer Cédric Etienne devised the structure with architect and master carpenter Gonçalo Madeira Marrote of Madeiguincho. The demountable cork pavilion can be fully taken apart.
The floor is a timber deck laid over removable concrete blocks. Solid cork blocks rise from the deck and form the walls.
Metal rods pass through milled channels in the blocks and hold the stack together. A timber roof sits on top. Etienne describes it as “like a hat with four screws,” and its weight presses down on the cork.
“I wanted it to be zero waste and carbon-neutral,” Etienne told Dezeen.
“If we need to dismantle it, we can place it somewhere else. There is no glue and no screws,” he said.
He framed the method as a parallel with Japanese teahouse construction. “It’s like the Japanese way of building teahouses, with total respect of the local materials and no harm to the land,” he said.
Corkinho specialises in objects and spaces made from cork, and the still room is one of its clearest examples of cork architecture. The studio launched the still room concept in 2020, when it moved its office into the former Noorderpershuis power station in Antwerp. It turned one room into a silent sanctuary.
Etienne defines a still room as any space where a person can pause the mind. The aim is to step out of noise and distraction.
“It’s a place where you disconnect from noise and distractions and invite a deeper sense of presence,” he said.
After talks with several hotel brands, Etienne pitched the concept to Rodrigues and his company, Silent Living. The company operates five properties, all designed by Aires Mateus, and all built around slow living.
Etienne already knew the site well. “I had been to Casa No Tempo many times, so I knew the place like an inner home,” he said.
“It felt so aligned in terms of feeling and senses, so I thought it could be a really beautiful challenge to move the concept forward in this place,” he continued.
Villa guests can use the room. It can also host curated programmes. Etienne has led four-day silent retreats there for groups of designers and hospitality professionals.
The cork blocks come from Sofalca, a locally based supplier. The blocks were heat-treated to improve their durability.
The idea of reusing materials as building resources runs through this project too, and Swiss car waste reimagined as architectural building material takes a similar circular approach to sourcing.
Etienne says the material shapes the building’s sensory and thermal character. “All the technical properties of cork – the acoustics, the scent, the softness – all become architectural conditions,” he stated.
The temperature inside stays steady even in heat. “You really feel like you’re coming into a womb. Even when it’s 40 degrees outside, the temperature inside is around 22 or 23,” he said.
Source: dezeen.com
Frequently asked questions
How is the cork pavilion held together without glue?
Metal rods pass through milled channels in the solid cork blocks and hold the stack together, with a timber roof sitting on top. The walls use no glue and no screws. The whole structure can be taken apart and rebuilt elsewhere.
What is the still room at Casa No Tempo used for?
The still room is intended for reading, yoga, tea ceremonies and meditation, and its purpose is silence. Villa guests can use it, and it can also host curated programmes.
Where is Corkinho’s still room located in Portugal?
It sits in the grounds of Casa No Tempo, a former farmhouse in southern Portugal. The farmhouse was converted into a holiday home by Aires Mateus in 2014.
Where do the pavilion’s cork blocks come from?
The cork blocks come from Sofalca, a locally based supplier. The blocks were heat-treated to improve their durability.
More in
Architecture
All Architecture
More like this
Timber and Glass Marvel: Hotel Hubertus' Panoramic Sauna Overlooks Italian Alps
Studio HYAN Revitalizes 1970s Japanese Home with Open Design and Natural Elements
Atlassian Central: A Landmark Hybrid Timber Tower Breaks Records in Sydney
Spiraling Timber and Steel Kindergarten Transforms Munich Campus with a Vertical Playground
Historic Farmhouse in Austria Revitalized with Bold Design and Modern Architecture
