“New life for wooden wine barrels” is a design project conceived by the San Patrignano community, a center that has been welcoming young men and women who are socially marginalized and/or have drug addiction problems for more than thirty years, offering them free rehabilitation in a drug-free environment.

Thirty well-known designers and architects have joined San Patrignano’s design initiative, including Marc Sadler, Karim Rashid and Alessandro Mendini. Each has designed a piece of furniture using wood reclaimed from used barriques, 230 liter wine barrels. Following their designs, the young people working in the Community’s large woodwork workshop -- just one of the many activities for youth at San Patrignano -- crafted the pieces of furniture. The project provides a way for these young people to regain their lost dignity and to learn a trade that will allow them to become a part of society once more.

The project enjoyed such success with critics and the public at the Salone del Mobile 2012, one of the design industry’s most important furniture shows held each year in Milan, that it’s being taken to the United States in the spring of 2013 as one of the initiatives staged by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote Italian culture in the US.

In conjunction with this project, San Patrignano has announced the design competition titled “At the Table” that is open to two categories of entrants, designers under 26 years of age and those over 26. Students practicing professionals, and graduates of programs in Architecture, Design and Fine Arts are invited to participate. Entrants will design pieces of furniture associated with dining and time spent at the table that can be made from reclaimed wood from used wine barrels. Other materials may also be used in the creation of the pieces (iron, glass, and other types of wood for example). All the projects must be submitted no later than February 5th, 2013.

Six designs will be awarded prizes -- three designed by competitors under 26 years of age and three by competitors over 26. Award-winning designs will be produced by the woodwork workshop at San Patrignano and their designers will have royalty rights. In addition to these prizes, there will also be a special SCM award.

The awarded designers of the “At the table” competition, along with all the projects presented and the works of other US designers will be exhibited in a road show that will open with the New York design week, held alongside the ICFF (18-21 May 2013). The Minister of Foreign Affair has inserted the Barrique project in the official program for the Year of Italian culture in the US. A schedule of over 100 undertakings cultural shows and promotional events will be held this year in all the main American cities ending this road show at the Museum Of Design Atlanta (MODA), where the exhibit will be featured for one month.

The competition announcement can be found at www.sanpatrignano.org/?q=en/node/7309, in addition to the project requirements and drawing submission form http://barrique.sanpatrignano.org/en/contest

Source: Scm Group S.p.A