Bodegas Portia: Prva vinarija Normana Fostera

Prva vinarija iz ruku arhitekte Normana Fostera završena je i svečano otvorena. Zgrada za Faustino Group
iz Ribera del Duero nalazi se 150 kilometara severno od španske prestonice, Madrida.

Postrojenje od 12.500 kvadratnih metara može proizvesti milion boca crvenog vina godišnje. Proces
proizvodnje kontrolisan je u središtu zgrade gde se odvijaju tri glavne faze proizvodnje vina: fermentacija,
razvijanje u bačvama i razvijanje u bocama. Svaki od procesa odvija se u posebnom krilu zgrade.

Delovi zgrade u kojima se nalaze boce i bačve u kojima vino sazreva delimično su povezani s tlom kako bi
se osigurali najpovoljniji mogući uslovi.

Grožđe se konvejerom koji vodi do vrha zgrade dostavlja direktno u levak, a odatle se, uz pomoć gravitacije,
prenosi u zgradu.

Ribera del Duero ima hladne zime i vrela leta s ograničenom količinom kiše. Zgrada je dizajnirana tako da
reguliše unutrašnju temperaturu kroz upotrebu termalne mase.

U srcu vinarije smještena je javna galerija koja se proteže u stakleni polusprat iznad svih krila zgrade.
Između krila se nalaze recepcija i administrativni delovi, a s terasa i bazena pruža se pogled na vinograde.
Površine su obložene letvama starih vinskih bačava.

winery was designed by the Swiss architects, Herzog and de Meuron. Best known for the Tate Modern in
London, their first project in the United States was Dominus. In 2001, Jaques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron were
awarded the Pritzker Prize, the highest honor in architecture.

Known for their innovative architectural design, their approach was to integrate the winery into the landscape,
echoing our belief that the vineyard is of utmost importance. Indeed, from a distance, the gabion structure
dissolves into the landscape and it has been dubbed by the locals "the stealth winery."

Filled with basalt rocks from the nearby American Canyon, the stainless steel baskets are both an aesthetic and
technical choice. Generally used to retain dirt along highways, here the gabions are used to moderate the extreme
temperatures of the Napa Valley.

Dominus' glass offices provide panoramic views, allowing us to follow at all times the activity in the vineyard,
key to producing a great wine

"A combination of sensorial and intellectual pleasure": that's how Jorge Silvetti, member of the panel of
judges which awarded the Pritzker Prize for 2001, described the architecture of Herzog & De Meuron,
winners of the competition for London's New Modern Tate Gallery.
California's Dominus Winery (1995-1998) is one of the most interesting examples of the cursus of their
work.
The building is a wine cellar for storage of barrels and barriques which also incorporates the winery's offices.
The project demonstrates a dual intuition. 
On the one hand, instead of reducing the visual impact resulting from the building's size (100 m long, 25 m
wide and 9 m high), the two Swiss architects chose to emphasize its disproportionate measures, giving the
exterior the three-dimensional qualities of a single compact volume. 
On the other hand, they came up with an aesthetically new but functionally correct way of using materials.

The building's "skin" is made of modular gabions of wire mesh "containing" masses of locally quarried stone
of different shapes and sizes - a technology commonly used in river engineering - made rigid by a metal
structure, also modular, on the interior. 
This solution creates an entirely new and surprising effect. 
On the outside, the varying hues of the basalt, from black to green, considerably attenuate the impact on the
environment that an architectural object of this type could potentially have: the building blends into the
surrounding landscape, and seems to become a simple horizontal line, only slightly more structured and
precise than the lines formed by the rows of grapevines. 
On the inside, the quantity of stone contained in individual gabions varies to permit differentiation of the
thickness of the masonry: this moderates extremes of temperature, as in old buildings, while providing
ventilation and natural lighting, even though the larger stones are placed on top and the smaller stones on
the bottom, in a solution which overturns the ancient tradition of ashlar-work.H&DeM comment: "You could
describe our use of gabions as a sort of stone wickerwork with varying degrees of transparency, more like
skin than traditional masonry". 
In actual fact, the linguistic choice of an exterior seen as a wrapping or "informative skin", characteristic of
contemporary architecture, appears frequently in the work of the two Swiss architects, who use it to create a
sort of "special effect" which is highly original and yet economical. 
Thus the SUVA Building facade is based on a module composed of panels of three different types of glass
- depending on the functions housed inside - while in Signal Tower 4 the building is tightly wound in a sort
of copper strip which makes it look like a Faraday cage.
In the Ricola Marketing Building, the wrapper consists of translucent polycarbonate panels bearing the
company's logo: in any case, the final effect is always one of transparency, which permits us to read the
interior of the building, as though through a sort of filigree, as in some of Kazhuo Sejima's architecture.
In the Dominus Winery this effect is achieved inside the building.
For light filters through the masses, forming an ever-changing weave which depends on atmospheric
conditions and the shapes of the stones: the effect is something entirely new, rather like a fascinating brise-
soleil, repeated in the glass in the office area. On the other hand, the "cuts" through which vehicles gain
access into the massive bulk of the construction permit it to connect up with the restful hilly landscape
behind it. 
With these huge "windows" the Winery project is somehow similar to the New Tate, though strangely it also
reminds us of similar operations in historic architecture, such as Vasari's example for the Ponte Vecchio in
Florence or the loggias in Castiglion Fiorentino.

But the language used remains rationalist: the boldly elongated, monolithic volume, the clear, rigorous
profile of the openings and the functional clarity of the plan, resolved in a single elegant rectangle, are
clearly reminiscent of similar experiences, for instance, in the architecture of Mies, while the mechanism of
repetition of components (in this case the gabions with their masses) does not impede the formal
experimentation which leads H&DeM to describe their architecture as follows: "The force of our buildings lies
in their immediate, visceral impact on the visitor". 
In the context of that continuous crossing-over between memory and invention that is the outstanding
characteristic of their style.

hillinger

The new winery was completed in 2004 after a construction phase of only one year. The sensitive location in the
midst of the Jois vineyards required special attention to planning. Honouring the earth cellars of a typical
Kellergasse (wine cellar alley) of former days, the concept of the architects gernerºgerner plus took advantage of
the favourable earth climate: the major part of the L-shaped production building was cut deeply into the slope,
subsequently covered with soil and as far as possible replanted with grapes; 24.000 cubic meters of soil had to be
moved and re-moved during the course of construction. 

The visible part with the cubic tasting lounge seems to hover upon slim V-shaped pillars over the ground. The large
window opens to the vineyards and the Leithagebirge mountain range; at night it presents a recognizable landmark
beacon that can be seen from far away. 

Eight northern-facing, pyramidal roof windows allow for natural light to illuminate the sub-terraneous production
hall, which ranks among the most modern in Europe. The newly planted accessible roof terrace offers wonderful
views of Lake Neusiedl. 

Inside, glass walls grant visitors insight into the various working spheres of the wine-grower. A bridge allows a view
into the barrique cellar below while linking the tasting lounge to the multi-functional seminar room behind. The
entire floor space of the object comprises 1850 sq.m.