CHYBIK + KRISTOF Architects has begun construction on the Lahofer Winery in the Czech Republic, seeking to create a space “symbiotic with the surrounding nature of the vineyards.” Encompassing a winemaking facility, visitor center, tasting room, and rooftop amphitheater, the scheme will be a fusion of tradition, nature, and modern winemaking practices.
The scheme’s three interconnected structures vary in height, lying under an undulating roof serving as a public amphitheater, hosting concerts and cultural events for visitors and locals. The scheme responds to the architectural language of the Moravian landscape, with a lightened volume and aesthetic that avoids impacting too heavily on the landscape.
The vision of our design integrates the building into the landscape it rests on, immersing the architecture among the striking vine rows that cover the land. Additionally, we prioritized the visitor experience by allocating the roof as a public space, an amphitheater open to local and international visitors.
-Ondřej Chybík and Michal Krištof
A connection between built and natural weighed heavily on the design of the winery. The building echoes the natural slopes of the surrounding terrain most noticeably in the amphitheater’s incline, while an interior column of arches aligns with the rhythm of the vine rows to create a symmetry with nature.
The new visitor center is enclosed in a south-facing glass façade, creating a thin barrier with the surrounding landscape. The visitor center includes a prominent tasting room and cellar made of wood, concrete, and glass. The tasting room is interconnected with the concave roof of the amphitheater, inhabiting the space under the exposed rib construction, with perpendicular intersections made of reinforced concrete ribs divides the arches spaces. The exposed structural elements are sculpted to guide the viewer’s gaze through the grapevines.
The two halls of the winemaking facility vary in height, corresponding with the production processes taking place within. The first hall, lower in profile, contains the central operations, wine-making production, and employee facilities. The second hall allows for operations that require lower temperatures, such as the wine press, cellar, and store. The architectural design of the rooftop amphitheater, meanwhile, offers a panoramic outlook of the vineyard, while holding a community space dedicated to cultural events, festivals, and theater performances.
The winery is expected to be completed in the Spring of 2020.
News via: CHYBIK + KRISTOF
