One material, one brand, infinite designs. The evolution and identity of Il Giardino di Corten is associated with the properties of the material from which it takes its name. The Friulian company – with 150 years of history and four generations of the Schneider family at its helm – has in fact elevated the materiality of Corten to a functional and creative element, a distinctive feature of each of its projects: the brand has explored its potential and translated it into a design capable of transcending time and space. The result is a heterogeneous collection that includes outdoor structures, furnishing accessories – fountains, planters, stone paths and urban and domestic furniture – extremely versatile, resistant and above all sustainable.
Il Giardino di Corten has drawn on the qualities with which this material was born and thanks to which it has found immediate application in a plurality of fields, from transport to architecture, from storage to furniture. In fact, COR-TEN® steel – patented in 1933 by the United States Steel Corporation and developed for military application by the US Navy – is characterised by its particular chemical composition, which allows for the creation of a superficial rust layer: hence its exceptional resistance to atmospheric agents, with a life span of up to four times that of steel and carbon, and at the same time its ability to generate reduced thicknesses. The extreme ductility and lightness is combined with the possibility of totally recycling the material.
La Stanza Che Non C’è by Il Giardino di Corten
At the origins of the company, in 1865, the founder of the Schneider family had already demonstrated his passion for metalworking by inaugurating the Officine Meccaniche Schneider, handing down this heritage of knowledge to subsequent generations, which was then applied to carpentry. From this rich and industrious past, Il Giardino di Corten was born, combining craftsmanship and know-how in the processing of raw materials with the vision of a true creative workshop. In recent times, the company has dedicated itself to the creation of comfortable and functional solutions for outdoor living, enhancing outdoor environments with a noble material such as Corten, a “living” metal that does not fear the elements of nature – water, sun, wind or earth – and which, indeed, expresses its potential outdoors thanks to its extraordinary ability to protect itself from corrosion.
An ideal representation of the brand’s design is La Stanza Che Non C’è (The Room That Isn’t There), a garden structure made of extremely customizable Corten steel – for intended use, size, accessories and finishes. A sauna, a reading room or a relaxation room, and even a greenhouse, a studio, a place of hospitality, a tool shed: La Stanza Che Non C’è becomes an architecture ready to evolve to satisfy every open-air desire, blending fluidly with nature as well as with the urban context. Thin sheets of metal create a covered structure (240×200 cm, 240×280 cm or 240×360 cm, all with a height of 260 cm at the top ridge) that can be integrated with a fireplace or wood-burning stove, with an insulation system, lighting, even glass walls and doors. With the advantage of being demountable, self-supporting and not anchored to the ground. This creates an extra room, private and in nature for the hotel industry; but it even becomes an office, a ticket office or a newsstand available to the public sector; or the dream room for the home, where you can keep your passions.
As a demonstration of its versatility, Il Giardino di Corten officially offers its “sauna” configuration: a true Finnish sauna that recreates the Nordic tradition, in its atmosphere and materials. The wood carefully selected from Swedish and Finnish plantations – managed with an eye toward eco-sustainability – restores an ideal of all-round well-being. Various configurations are available (240×200, 240×280 240×360 cm), accessorized with Bluetooth Audio System, Stove Protection and call button, Infrared Protection, as well as a changing room and chromotherapy and heating systems for the larger models that can also become biosaunas, for total harmony with nature.
