Foster + Partners was commissioned to expand and refurbish the Bodegas Faustino Winery in Spain. The project will focus on building a new wooden visitor center with a solar panel array that will be able to generate nearly six times the electricity the building requires.
Bodegas Faustino is located in Ollon, in the Spanish wine region of La Rioja, where the Martinez-Sabala family started their wine business 160 years ago.
The new visitor center is a long semi-cylindrical structure made from locally sourced wood, with intricate wooden arches and an earth-toned exterior designed to blend seamlessly with its surroundings. Its interior, on the other hand, features an open and airy layout that is flexible and forward-looking. Alongside the visitor center, Foster + Partners installed a new avenue to improve accessibility, using timber canopies and landscaped pathways to guide guests into the vineyard.
Foster + Partners explains: “An asymmetrical core separates two distinctive zones that offer different experiences of Faustino wines: a central staircase and [elevator] Connecting the ground floor and the mezzanine, the mezzanine protrudes from the core and overlooks the space below and the beautiful vineyards beyond. “
Foster + Partners
It’s still in its early stages and no firm numbers are available, but sustainable design is key, and alongside the solar panel array, the visitor center’s roof also features ample glazing to reduce the need for artificial lighting. increase. Add greenery to existing buildings to improve insulation performance, and carefully selected native species to increase biodiversity as well.
No word yet on when the project is expected to be completed. This is not the first time Foster + Partners has been involved with the Martínez Zabala family, as the company previously worked on Bodegas Portia in 2010. Recently, a winery named Le Dome Winery has been completed in France.
Source: Foster + Partners
