Consisting of a 23,500-square-foot custom crush production facility and a 4,000-square-foot hospitality building surrounded by numerous outdoor terraces, this project is being developed by a unique partnership that combines the expertise of a well-known Napa Valley winemaker with a respected wine country restaurateur. The vision for the project, set on a prominent site on the floor of the southern Napa Valley, is to create a custom crush facility that will help develop and support smaller labels that might not otherwise have a presence in the valley, combining cutting-edge winemaking technology with a culinary program to form a wine and food destination.
The footprint takes the form of two L-shaped structures set back to back, each a mirror image of the other. Shielded from its neighbors by the production building, the hospitality building is nestled against an existing pond, with a separate, open-air pavilion sited and elevated to capture the valley views. The overall design solution is a play on simple architectural massing. By either extruding or carving away from the elemental shapes, a rhythm and pattern of use begins to take form.
The two buildings form a strong visible presence on the valley floor, but are carefully nestled into the surrounding landscape so as not to call too much attention to themselves. The production building is sheathed in a dark, standing-seam metal to help minimize its visual impact, with a sawtooth roofline that references the structure’s industrial use while drawing indirect light into the interior spaces.
Covered in diamond-shaped metal tiles in a lighter hue, the hospitality building echoes the simple gables of the production building at a smaller scale. Outdoor terraces at either end are shaded by extruded rooflines, separated from the main structure by bands of glazing and visually connected to the building’s interiors by expansive glass walls, for an experience that is simulaneously indoors and outdoors. The overall effect is an understated temple to the making and enjoyment of wine.
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