BARRIQUE: New Life For Old Casks

Furniture and design pieces created from wood reclaimed from casks. In a nutshell, that’s what the “New life for wooden barriques” project is about. It was launched in Italy by the San Patrignano Community (Europe’s biggest drug rehabilitation center) with the help of Maurizio and Davide Riva and the support of the associations Federvini, FederlegnoArredo and Cosmit. The project is about new starts – both for the wood reclaimed from 230 liter casks and for the young people at San Patrignano who, thanks to the initiative, have been able to work on themselves after a difficult past and also learn a trade which is dying out. In addition, they have been able to challenge themselves, putting themselves to the test with 30 of the world’s best-known designers and architects who conceived the design pieces. Over the 30 years it has been open, the Community has succeeded in developing a significant food and wine interest with an annual output of 600,000 bottles of top quality wine. The wine ages inside the barriques – 230 liter casks made from French oak that are used for an average of just three harvests. After being used for a maximum of five years, the wood from these casks would normally be destroyed. Over the same period, the Community has also built up a woodwork workshop which over the years has taught both industrial and artisan woodwork, aiming to sustain a trade which was being lost. And this is where the idea of re-using the wood from the barriques in furniture and design pieces came from. The idea was actually donated to the Community by Maurizio Riva who conceived it the moment he learnt of the short life of barriques. Thanks to him, the Community has involved 32 of the world’s most renowned designers and architects, challenging them to interpret their way this peculiar material, making the best from their particular nature, shape and color: below you can see a short selection of the results of this collaboration, whose baptism of fire took place at that temple of Italian home design, the Milan Salone del Mobile 2012, held in April; for the full collection, just follow the link below.

BOTTEA, seat and bookcase by Mario Botta