Description

The building of the Marco Real winery is situated near the town of Olite in the northern Spanish province of Navarra, which has a long tradition of wine growing and producing. The winery lies secluded amidst the foothills of a mountainous area outside Olite. The building was commissioned by a hotel chain. Apart from providing appropriate production spaces for high-quality wines, the building’s architecture was to express a corporate identity and provide a centre for marketing events.

Mangado designed a compact two-storey building made of exposed concrete with a clear exterior shape and well integrated into the landscape. Apart from the representative function of the wine cellar the building was essentially meant to showcase the two typical production stages of wine-making: the traditional method of maturing and the industrial bottling. For the production of quality wines certain technical standards have to be observed. For instance, no sunlight must enter the wine cellar during the maturing process and the room climate has to remain constant. Therefore, the storage rooms, the winepress and maturing spaces are situated in the basement of the building. As it is fully enclosed by the ground, the equilibrium of temperature and lighting conditions required for wine production can be achieved. On the ground floor, there are the main entrance, representative and staff areas, the bottling facilities and additional rooms like laboratories, offices, and a housekeeper’s flat. Daylight enters the foyer through evenly spaced light shafts in the roof. From here, visitors can observe the bottling facilities through large glass panes. A long corridor leads to spaces for exhibitions and receptions; and an observation platform is located on the roof.

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