Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners opens new winery in Spain

 

Site model. The triangular site is on the outskirts of town, the base of the hill just visible in the right hand corner

Penafiel is a small agricultural town 50km of Valladolid. Located on a plateau 800m above sea-level, in the summer temperatures range from 34C by day to 12C by night. The town centre is grouped around the base of a hill, on which a medieval castle sits.

View of the winery from the road that runs up to the hilltop castle

The hill is pockmarked with stone chimneys, ventilation inlets for the 2km of tunnels that run through the hillside. This network has been used to store wine at a constant temperature for over five centuries. RSHP's winery similarly takes advantage of the earth's thermal mass, albeit using a more modern approach, by locating the storage warehousing 13m below ground level.

Some of the thousands of barrels stored in tunnels under the hillside. The new winery has an underground link to these tunnels

 

Section

As part of working through the brief with the client, multiple diagrams similar to this were drawn, to arrive at the best arrangement of plant

 

The winery's loading bays for outgoing goods. The ramp that skirts one of the edges is used by farmers delivering their harvests. Deliveries of grapes will come up this ramp to drop off their harvest. Grapes are then hand-sorted into differing grades, then added to the mix. Farmers are paid according to the quality and quantity of their harvest. The castle can be seen in the background

Ground floor plan

 

The wooden arches contrast with the stainless steel used throughout the plant

 

Basement level plan showing underground link to the old winery

 

The basement storage area. The repetitive nine-metre structural grid allows a flexible use of the cellar for ageing wine in barrels and bottles.

 

The stone for the plinth that surrounds the winery came from a local quarry

The main visitors' entrance area, seen prior to fit out. The generous roof heights help prevent overheating and minimise the need for air conditioning

The overhanging arches provide much-needed shade

 

Aerial view from south west, with main visitors' entrance in the foreground

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