Description

In 1819 the foundations of the wine-growing tradition in New Zealand, the world’s southern-most wine-growing region, were laid. The gravelly soil and cold maritime climate were ideal conditions for the cultivation of wine. One of the most renowned wine areas is Hawke’s Bay, which is situated in a bay in the east of the northern island. Some of the vines grown here are of premium quality. After the first harvest in 1996, a simple functional building for future production was to be erected following the local building tradition. The use of steel and glass makes it a functional and modern building; the use of untreated timber and concrete blurs the visual boundaries to the landscape. The building is of an unpretentious rural appearance and due to the raw building materials and its simple structure it easily blends into the environment. The volume links the adjacent vineyards, and at the same time forms a kind of dam structure to the valley that lies behind.

The interior of the rectangular building is split into two halves by minor secondary spaces. The barrel storage, entrance and wine-tasting areas are located in the western part, while wine production is carried out in the eastern part. The zone of secondary spaces includes sanitary facilities, a staff room and a laboratory. The building interior is characterized by prefabricated structural concrete slabs. Functional aspects mainly guided the floor plan layout: the useful area of 9,000 m² provides space for the mash and winepress, for fermentation and maturing of the wine in French oak barrels as well as for bottling and wine tasting. In the near future, an extension of the winery is planned, creating guest rooms for visitors and a restaurant where the house wine can be tasted.

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