Innovations in wood: WOOD-SKIN

WOOD-SKIN is crafted from a patented fabrication process, which allows it to create unconventional shapes for a wide range of architectural shapes. 

Invented in Milan by four architects and designers over 6 years ago, WOOD-SKIN redefines the possibilities of what can be realised with traditional building materials such as wood. The innovative product bridges the gap between traditional construction materials and the complex forms emerging from digital design technologies. 

WOOD-SKIN — a composite material — has the same texture and aesthetic as traditional wooden surfaces but thanks to the team's patented fabrication process is flexible enough to enable designers to create unconventional shapes for a wide range of architectural and interior design projects; from furniture to art installations. 

The WOOD-SKIN inventors initially developed the material as a reaction to the evermore demanding landscape of design. The material can fold similarly to how origami would and is developed with specially created software allowing it to hinge at any point and be twisted into unusual shapes or hung on ceilings and walls. 

The benefit of the WOOD-SKIN process is that it can cut out the challenge of translating design from the digital to the physical, making production immediate and exact to the 3D digital design. The proprietary software for surface management efficiently controls the amount of material used in the creation of a project.

WOOD-SKIN systems also have high acoustic properties that can be customized with specific materials — such as synthetic felt or cork — as well with specific perforation to obtain the necessary acoustic behaviour, from absorption to diffusion and reflection.

WOOD-SKIN is strong and resistant yet has a malleable possibility which allows the designers to translate digital projects into unconventional structures which once were impossible to achieve with wood or similar materials. The material is fully customizable and has parameters that can be adapted to fit an individual project’s needs. The technology unlocks new design potential for flat and rigid materials allowing the construction of architectural surfaces behaving like semi-rigid membranes with functional properties. 

WOOD-SKIN is available to view within the Building Centre's product galleries. To enquire about it, please contact our Information Specialist, Tony Michael.