City Cortex is a cultural programme that explores the intersection between contemporary urban contexts and one of the most versatile and sustainable raw materials offered by nature: Cork. The programme views the city as a living, dynamic organism, which is responding to the urban challenges of the 21st century, in key areas such as fruition, protection, intergenerationality, social cohesion, comfort, sustainability and resource management.
Based on the contributions of internationally recognised architects and designers, City Cortex aims to create original projects for public and semi-public spaces in different cities. The first city will be Lisbon - where participants will experiment, test and expand the possibilities of using Portuguese cork and its cork manufacturing sector. The programme also aims to inspire innovative thinking, marked by ideas and intersections that offer a positive and useful contribution to communities and their interaction with the natural environment. The programme also seeks to offer a playful experience to citizens, transforming common urban spaces into a playground, a space for multidisciplinary and multicultural interaction.
City Cortex proposes to use cork as an inspiration to rethink about the experience of urban public spaces, awakening interest in the use of sustainable materials that can be part of a circular economy and play a key role in the participatory and playful activation of spaces. It is a way to raise public awareness from a pedagogical, ethical and ecological perspective.
Produced and implemented by Corticeira Amorim, curated by experimentadesign and with production support from Artworks, City Cortex aims to highlight cork’s material and sensory characteristics while promoting emotional and social relationships, that are so prevalent in urban centres.
City Cortex essentially aims to:
• Expand the possibilities of using a sustainable and natural material in urban contexts;
• Foster greater awareness of sustainability in the development of contemporary urban landscapes;
• Inspire innovative thinking, marked by ideas and intersections that offer a positive and useful contribution to community life and interaction with the natural environment.
During the presentation, members of the public will be able to experience the projects. A book about the projects will also be published, offering a reflection on these themes, to be launched by the end of this year.
