In the heart of the 20th anniversary edition of Design Miami, held during the electrifying Miami Art Week 2025, American designer Stephen Burks unveiled an installation that functioned as a “speculative ceremonial site.” Titled “The Observer Effect” or “The Lost Cloth Object”—a collaboration with Italian wood pioneer ALPI—the exhibition served as a profound translation of the ancient Kuba textile traditions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By utilizing thousands of pieces of ALPI’s reconstituted wood veneer to recreate the intricate, rhythmic patterns of raffia palm weaving, Burks moved beyond simple decoration. He transformed “endangered” wood grains into a contemporary wooden canvas, creating a series of hybrid objects that celebrate the intersection of global craft and industrial innovation. It is an exploration of “Make. Believe.,” where imagination is used to preserve the textures of the past for the architectures of the future.
The Kuba Connection: Weaving with Wood
The conceptual foundation of the installation lies in the Kuba textiles of the Kuba Kingdom. Historically woven from raffia palm fibers, these cloths are world-renowned for their complex, improvisational geometric motifs and plush, velvet-like textures. Stephen Burks, whose studio “Man Made” is dedicated to merging industrial production with traditional handcraft, sought to bridge the gap between this Congolese art form and Italian material expertise. By treating ALPI’s wood veneers as if they were threads of raffia, Burks used advanced marquetry to “weave” thousands of wooden slivers into eye-popping arrangements of symbolic abstraction.
This “translation” of materials is a recurring theme in Burks’ career. He describes the project as a way to forge new paths for Kuba traditions to exist in contemporary materials—a transition that neither the artisans of Kinshasa nor the technicians of ALPI had previously attempted. The result is a surface that challenges the viewer’s perception: from a distance, the objects appear to be wrapped in patterned fabric, but upon closer inspection, the “cloth” reveals itself to be a rigorous mosaic of natural wood.
The Legacy Collection: Reviving “Lost” Species
To give the patterns their distinctive depth and color, Burks utilized ALPI’s Legacy Collection, an engineered wood line developed under the art direction of Piero Lissoni. This collection is a masterpiece of “reconstituted nature,” using FSC-certified wood from responsibly managed forests to recreate the aesthetic profiles of endangered or nearly “lost” species such as ebony, teak, rosewood, wenge, and zebrawood. By using these sustainable recreations, Burks avoids the ecological toll of harvesting protected timber while still achieving the rich, dark, and varied grains essential to the Kuba aesthetic.
The choice of the Legacy Collection adds a second layer of meaning to the exhibition’s title, “The Lost Cloth Object.” It refers not only to the “lost” textiles of ancient kingdoms but also to the “lost” species of the world’s forests. Through ALPI’s engineering process—which involves peeling, dyeing, and re-stacking wood logs to create entirely new “logs” of composite veneer—the installation highlights how industrial artifice can be used to preserve and honor the natural world’s diverse beauty.
A Speculative Ceremonial Site: The Installation Components
The installation itself was presented as a “dreamscape,” centered on an organically shaped platform that suggested a ritualistic space. This “ceremonial site” featured three primary furniture elements, each functioning as a sculpture that invited interaction.
- The Rocking Stool and Ottoman: Designed with curved, rhythmic bases, these pieces introduce a sense of motion to the solid wood. The rocking action mimics the sway of traditional ceremonies, turning the act of sitting into a dynamic experience.
- The Curved Partition: A slightly concave, room-dividing screen served as the visual anchor of the booth. Covered in thousands of marquetry pieces, the partition showcased the full scale of the Kuba patterns, acting as a backdrop that blurred the boundary between furniture and architectural art.
- The Circular Pedestal: A large, table-like surface that integrated the various geometric motifs into a single, cohesive “thought-bubble” silhouette.
These objects were not intended to be “finite products” for immediate mass-market consumption. Instead, Burks and ALPI positioned them as conceptual starting points for future surface collections, using Design Miami as a testing ground for how African cultural movements can be harmoniously joined with Italian design heritage.
Design Miami 2.0: Craft as a Tool for Innovation
“The Lost Cloth Object” was a standout feature of Design Miami 2.0, a museum-quality showcase curated by Glenn Adamson. This special section of the fair featured eight international design studios, each chosen for their ability to use design as a tool for “making” and “believing.” Adamson noted that Burks’ infusion of pattern and masterful handling of timber provided a “powerful note” in the exhibition, capturing the essence of the fair’s 20th-anniversary theme.
For ALPI, this marked their first official participation in Design Miami, signaling a new chapter in their involvement with the international collectible design scene. By partnering with Burks, the company demonstrated that its material—often used for large-scale architectural surfaces—can be as delicate and narrative-driven as fine art. The collaboration successfully repositioned wood veneer as a medium for cultural exploration, proving that industrial precision can have a “soul” when guided by the hand of a master researcher.
The Future of the “Man Made” Movement
As Miami Art Week 2025 concludes, the legacy of Stephen Burks’ collaboration with ALPI continues to ripple through the design world. The project reinforces Burks’ guiding principle: that design should serve as a tool for realizing “all the world’s futures,” not just a privileged few. By giving Congolese textile traditions a new life in Italian wood, he has created a template for a more inclusive, cross-cultural design vocabulary.
Looking forward to 2026, the success of “The Lost Cloth Object” is expected to lead to a broader collection of ALPI surfaces inspired by the Kuba motifs, making this high-concept marquetry accessible to a wider architectural audience. Whether through a rocking stool in a gallery or a veneer wall in a modern residence, Burks’ work remains a testament to the fact that when we look back at our “lost” heritages, we often find the clearest path forward.
