The opening event of the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion on the 1st of June was reported by 135 journalists. This is a true showcase for Portuguese natural cork. Corticeira Amorim has supplied more than 80 m3 of cork for the Pavilion.
Cork is used extensively in the whole underground space of the Pavilion. This natural raw material has been selected because it favors the acoustics of the space and has wonderful haptic and olfactory qualities, as evidenced by the testimonies of Herzog & de Meuron: "It's soft and warm to the touch, it has a very distinctive smell and has the versatility to be cut and formed into different shapes."
At the opening, António Rios de Amorim, Corticeira Amorim's Chairman and CEO, said he was "very pleased with the prominence given to cork in this world's iconic architectural project and it was expected that that extensive use of cork would bring greater international recognition to natural cork, a raw material that Amorim strove to enhance every day."
The Pavilion designed by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei is a circular, cork-lined lounge, with a complex multi-level structure, where 108 pieces of furniture made from agglomerated expanded cork are artfully scattered around. These pieces have been designed by Ai Weiwei and Herzog and de Meuron specifically for this purpose and have been hand-carved by Amorim Isolamentos' skilled technicians, under the supervision of the team of architects.
The 2012 Serpentine Pavilion has already been purchased by Usha and Lakshmi N. Mittal and will enter their private collection after it closes to the public in 14 October 2012.
