Here at Parallax Studio (I say here but we’re scattered across London and Edinburgh!) we believe a fair amount in the design process so we approached this project from an architectural perspective. This meant through an iterative design process we were able to develop a project that carried the concept through to execution.

We chose New Zealand as a platform for progressive wine-making. As a place with little established tradition since before the 21st century, we felt free to take our own direction with the project.

Here we present our interpretation of the brief, “Vineyard”, this self-servicing vineyard was envisioned to push the boundaries of high-tech wine production, and invite visitors to experience and celebrate the spectacle of 21st century wine technology. The focus of the project was the process of winemaking we wanted the design to reflect this.

The layout of the project was focused around the production of Wine. The arrival for visitors is also the same approach for the grapes, before being funnelled into vertical processing pillars. The juice is extracted, and sent down the building’s two long arms. As the guests descend down the central gut of the building, so too does the wine. Whilst the user emerges into a courtyard, that sandwiches one between the landscape and the man made, the wine journeys downwards too, into the barrel vaults.