Carnegie has just announced a collaboration with Italian brand Wood-Skin—authors of an exciting new proprietary process using advanced software and digital manufacturing to streamline the process of creating innovative surfacing materials.

Essentially, the technology translates a digital file into a machined product—“tessellating the surface of a 3D model to generate its precise unfolded geometries onto sheets of rigid composite material.”

A rough layman’s translation of this is the fabrication of intricate faceted surfaces that behave more like textiles, made of all types of materials and in unending patterns and styles.

Wood-Skin offers three product lines: Fold Panels: “3D panels with intriguing geometries,” Mesh Sheets: “Sleek, 3D membranes using rigid materials,” and Tailor Made: “custom surfaces to create sculptural feature elements.”

The upshot is that Wood-Skin offers the opportunity to make rigid materials more like textiles—faster to make, easier to manipulate, and ultimately less costly—opening up endless opportunities for this exciting new technology.

The Wood-Skin brand is FSC-Certified; they source materials from forests where diversity and sustainability are prioritized and from communities where workers are treated fairly. Carnegie will be the sole North American distributor of the panel products. To find out more, see Wood-Skin.