During my search for upcycled design at the IMM in Cologne last week, I came across a fantastic project. BARRIQUE, “liberating people through reclaiming wood from casks and traditional artisanal work which has always distinguished Italy. This summarises the ‘New life for wooden barriques’ project. It has been created by San Patrignano | Italy, Europe’s biggest drug rehabilitation center.”

Unique barrique upcycling project

San Patrignano is a place for young men and women who have serious drug abuse problems, regardless of ideology, social background, or religion, and completely free of charge, accepting no payment or funding from their families or the government. Since 1978, San Patrignano has taken in over 18,000 people, offering them a home, healthcare, legal assistance, and the opportunity to study, learn a job, change their lives, and regain their status as full members of society.
With the help of 32 of the world’s most renowned designers and architects, the wood from the barriques is re-used, upcycled, into furniture and design pieces. One of those great design pieces is the DOC chaise longue. DOC is designed by Marc Sadler: “I designed using the oak staves, makes the effect of a vertebral column visible, where precise male-female joints lock each component together in a sinuous ensemble. Thanks to a fine piece of joinery, the multiples in any same section of staves form an elegant and ergonomic design, which also embraces the roughness of the history of the oak with which it is made. The sigh of the wine that this wood entertained for years makes its presence felt by the rough appearance, which has deliberately been left as it is, and by the uneven yet spectacular color that the material has gained over time.”
Please visit the great San Patrignano site to find out more about the project and the unique way of making these furniture and design pieces.

Created by San Patrignano

Wine Table

Doga

Trojan

DOC

Photos © San Patrignano