Barkpanel by Re-Claim

Nature’s facade made from bark.

Bark protects trees from weather, UV radiation, and biological degradation, yet in the timber industry it is often burned as biomass. Re-Claim developed Barkpanel to transform bark into facade panels for buildings instead. The bark is sorted, processed, and pressed so that a raw material with natural variations in structure and density can become stable panels. At the same time, tannin is extracted from the bark and used as a natural binder. This means both the material itself and the substance that binds it together come from the same resource.

The construction industry needs materials with a lower climate impact, while large volumes of bark continue to be burned as biomass. Barkpanel extends the life of bark by using it as building material instead. Because the tannin is extracted from the bark itself, the panel can be produced without fossil-based binders. According to Re-Claim, the material stores an estimated 30 kg of CO2 per square meter. Barkpanel shows how one local bioresource can provide both the structure and the binder in a single material.