City Cortex

Conception and artistic direction of the programme City Cortex for Corticeira Amorim

City Cortex is a programme that investigates the intersection between contemporary urban contexts and one of the most versatile and sustainable materials that nature has to offer: cork. Recognising the urban city as a live and dynamic organism, the programme looks at the defining challenges of the 21st century in which themes such as mobility, security, comfort, preservation, sustainability and natural resources management are absolutely essential to take into account. 

The chosen city to host this research programme is New York and the invited design studios are Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Gabriel Calatrava, Leong Leong, Philippe Starck and Sagmeister & Walsh.

With the contributions of internationally renowned architects and designers, City Cortex envisions the inception of original projects for public and semi-public spaces in New York city, through the development of in situ-research methods on the potentialities of  Portuguese cork and its respective industry of transformation. 

Mainly, City Corks focuses on:

• Expanding the usage of this extraordinary, natural and sustainable material in urban contexts;
• Opening ways to a greater awareness about sustainability and the development of urban contemporary landscapes.
• Inspiring innovative thoughts, marked by ideas and intersections that offer positive and useful contributions to our lives as a community within itself and nature. 

The programme also dedicates itself to the idea of the city space as a playground for a multicultural and multidisciplinary usage. 

Promoted by the Portuguese company Amorim and curated by experimentadesign, the end result of this programme will be presented in New York.