BARRIQUE: WINE, DESIGN, & SOCIAL CHANGE
September 15, — October 13, 2013
Barrique, an exhibition presented by MODA in 2013, spotlights a wine barrel (barrique) recycling project that took place in Europe’s largest residential treatment center for young men and women recovering from drug addiction and social exclusion. Located in San Patrignano, Italy, the 1,300 residents of this treatment center learned professional skills — including viticulture, wine making, and woodworking — and produced more than 450,000 liters of wine each year, which was aged in 230 liter French oak barrels.
The fact that these barrels could only be used for three years led the community of San Patrignano to develop an innovative design project. They reached out to thirty well-known designers and architects — including Marc Sadler, Karim Rashid, Angela Missoni, and Alessandro Mendini — asking each of them to design a piece of furniture using wood reclaimed from these wine barrels. Then, the residents of San Patrignano crafted the pieces of furniture from the old barrels, effectively demonstrating how design innovation can be used to achieve social good.
