The basic material for “wooden textiles” is taken from the mulberry tree, the cambium. A tapa is a soft and flexible wooden cloth that Tongans use for rituals like weddings and funerals. The basis for the ancient craft of tapa-making is the cambium of the paper mulberry tree, a thin layer of fibers between the bark and the wood of the tree.

Original tapas have a fascinating beauty but lack the practical qualities needed for contemporary use. This project was professionalized in 2014 under the name of Cambials. Lenneke Langenhuijsen and Brecht Duijf from Buro Belén are materializers. By broadening and expanding the material qualities of spaces, objects and products, Belén creates tangible design for the future. Central to their approach are the intuitive, emotional and physical aspects of design, resulting in products and visions that show unexpected applications of material and colours, as well as revaluations of conventional techniques.

Belén works on material and colour concepts in the field of product design, interior design and exhibition design.They have been commissioned by Georg Jensen, Villa Noailles Hyères, Textiellab Tilburg, amongst others. Their work has been exhibited at Textile Museum Tilburg, Boijmans van Beuningen Rotterdam and Palazzo Clerici Milano.

The wooden textile works of Buro Belén will be on display on Material Xperience 2016 and there will also be lecture from these exciting materialisers. More information can be found here.