Description

A prevailing aspect of the Señorío de Arínzano winery in the northern Spanish Navarra region is to treat the natural environment with care. Navarra is one of Spain’s most renowned wine growing regions. In this impressive landscape lies the 300 hectare estate; there are records of wine growing here from the 16th century and it boasts several century-old monuments. Not far from the winery is the small town of Aberín, situated by the Way of St. James.

First of all, improvements to the soil had to be carried out to enable high-quality wine growing on the site. However, this had to be done without disturbing topography and fauna as the subtle transition from natural landscape to cultivated land, which makes this vineyard a special place, was to be retained.

The integration into the natural environment also manifests itself in the architecture. The new buildings were arranged around the historic building fabric to form a courtyard. They are made of specially treated concrete, which will slowly take on a patina reminiscent of natural stone. Windows and the tree-like roof structure are made of oak wood, which can be frequently found in the vicinity. The roof cladding consists of copper and the wooden roof structure is exposed to the interior, thus adding to the rustic atmosphere created by the oak barrels for storing the wine. These so-called barricas lie in a narrow long wing that has been slightly recessed into the ground in the western part of the premises. In the shorter northeastern wing there are the main entrance, offices, and wine tasting rooms as well as a large bottling facility. The grapes are delivered via the courtyard. As a whole, the different volumes follow a compact, simple, and clearly arranged layout, which convinces through its restrained approach and respect for the cultural heritage and the natural environment.

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Originally published in: Jürgen Adam, Katharina Hausmann, Frank Jüttner, Industrial Buildings: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2004.