13 September

Global Seminars & Invited Speaker Series

"FROM THE MUSES TO ARÍNZANO. WINERIES IN TIERRA ESTELLA".
Historic wineries: typology and evolution

José Javier Azanza López
University of Navarra

The construction of wineries seems to be a distinctive feature of the great architects of our time: Frank O. Gehry, Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, Santiago Calatrava, Rafael Moneo... In fact, the media on speech no longer speak of wineries, but of "wine cathedrals of the 21st century", often multifunctional buildings that house other functions in addition to the purely winemaking one. But the term is not new, as can be seen in a quick tour of some of the main milestones that mark the historical development of this architectural typology.

We can take as our starting point the Andalusian bodegas, and more specifically the Jerez bodegas, constructions that began at the end of the 18th century but became widespread in the 19th century, when the British writer and traveller Richard Ford, in his work Gatherings from Spain (London, 1846), exclaimed: "These temples of Bacchus resemble cathedrals in size and height, and their rooms, like the Hispanic chapels, bear the names of the saints to whom they are dedicated". The bodegas-cathedrals in Jerez attracted attention at the time for their height, techniques and materials, which transcended the purely functional to achieve excellence through magnificence and beauty. Iron architecture was also added to the traditional construction method in the form of the bodega La Concha or La Rotonda (1868-1872) by the British engineer Joseph Coogan, a technical feat with its 24 metal pillars arranged around the perimeter without any central support, freeing up the interior space required for its functionality. Together with the Mercado Central de Abastos (1885) by the architect José Esteve, it is the greatest exponent of iron construction in Jerez.

Sherry wineries: Marqués de Misa and La Concha (Joseph Coogan).

A second moment was provided by the Catalan wineries of the first decades of the 20th century, which arose as a response to the phylloxera plague which, after ruining the French vineyards, attacked the Catalan countryside in 1879 and in eight years killed 99% of the vines. The recovery of farmers and small landowners through cooperativism was demonstrated by the construction of new wineries, buildings of great architectural value designed by the disciples of the leaders of modernism, which due to their monumentality and relative similarity to religious temples (large interior spaces distributed in naves, employment of arches and vaults in their roofing, decorative elements) were called by the writer, poet and playwright Ángel Guimerá "authentic cathedrals of wine". The adjective was applied to the cooperative winery of l'Espluga de Francolí (1913) by Lluís and Père Domenech, whose interior is notable for its Gothic lines. And it was extended to the wineries designed in Terra Alta (a Catalan region in the province of Tarragona) by the architect César Martinell, in which he combined utility, Economics and aesthetics, as is evident in Pinell de Brai (1918) and Gandesa (1919), whose most striking feature is the employment of the inverted parabolic or catenary arch inherited from Gaudí; Added to this is the open treatment of the spandrels, which lightens the weight and makes the naves almost transparent, and the employment glazed ceramic.

Catalan wineries: L'Espluga de Francolí (Lluís and Pere Domènech) and Pinell de Brai (César Martinell).

In the second half of the 20th century, winemakers discovered in architecture an excellent tool of advertising linked to the phenomenon of wine tourism; the maxim of "architecture at the service of wine" began to be put on internship . This worldwide change of perspective has its origins in Napa Valley (California, USA) and comes from the winemaker son of Italian immigrants Robert Mondavi, whose first winery was designed in 1966 by the architect Cliff May in the so-called " mission statementStyle" in which both its façade (whose timeless character with its bell tower and wide entrance arch has become label of the brand) and other elements of the complex refer to the forms of the old Franciscan missions. This was followed by Opus One (1980), a Franco-American business by Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rotschild, for which architect Scott Johnson designed a building in the manner of a "small jewellery box" with a very gentle profile aimed at preserving the natural corridors along the valley. And Clos Pegase (1987), an icon of post-modern architecture named after French symbolist Odilon Redon's Pegasus (1893), a favourite work of art collector and owner Jan Shrem; architect Michael Graves combines tradition and modernity in an evocation of Mediterranean culture for a timeless (almost metaphysical) sensibility, transposing classical architecture, Tuscan landscape and the mysterious landscapes of Poussin and Claude Lorrain to the hills of Northern California.

Wineries in Napa Valley, California: Fumé Blanc (Cliff May), Opus One (Scott Johnson) and Clos Pegase (Michael Graves).

Spain was not left out of the concept of "wine architecture" based on the tourist potential of wineries, so that in the last years of the 20th century and the first years of the 21st century and with the still favourable economic situation (the current status has changed), wine tourism opened up a new path in regions such as the Basque Country, La Rioja, Aragon and both Castillas. Other factors contributing to this phenomenon include the construction of buildings such as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao (1997, Frank O. Gehry) and the Kursaal in San Sebastian (Rafael Moneo, 1999), as well as the creation of the Museum of Wine Culture in Briones (La Rioja) in 2004.

In this authentic "architecture of spectacle" that Spanish wineries are becoming, one of the first references is in Laguardia (Álava), where Santiago Calatrava designed Ysios (1998-2001) in honour of the Egyptian goddess protector of nature Isis, a longitudinal building whose aluminium roof with a wavy layout combining concave and convex surfaces runs between the circular shape of the barrels and the geological forms of the Cantabrian mountain range that runs behind it. Without leaving the province of Alava, in the town of Elciego, Frank O. Gehry imagined a building for Marqués de Riscal (2003-2007) with its hallmark: the exterior titanium cladding with undulating shapes in the colours of business, pink (wine), gold (mesh) and silver (capsule). The architectural challenge led him to conceive a building in continuous movement that resembles "an animal galloping in the countryside", whose outer shell gives the sensation of "floating in the middle of the vineyards".

In La Rioja, on the road between Logroño and Laguardia is Bodega Viña Real (2004), the work of the Bordeaux architect Philippe Mazières, which is impressive both for what you can see, a gigantic vat lined with red cedar wood from Canada that houses the fermentation conference room , and for what you cannot see, two colossal tunnels perforated in the rock of the hill, 15 metres high and 125 metres deep, where the wine is aged. Also in Logroño is Bodegas Darien (2007), by the Navarrese architect Jesús Marino Pascual, who, following the example of the boulders that abound on the banks between the vineyards of La Rioja, proposes a building that looks like an aggregation of large boulders that turn one on top of the other, between which are hidden large glass panels that illuminate the interior spaces. Jesús Marino Pascual himself is responsible for Bodegas Irius (now Sommos) (2004-2008) in the town of Barbastro in Huesca, conceived as a "geometric game at the foot of the Pyrenees" in which the singularity of its forms and the strength of its materials stand out, prismatic volumes of steel and glass that generate a singular geometry and announce the modern character of the underground interior winery.

Let us add to the above the name of Norman Foster, who left his mark on the lands of Gumile de Izán in Burgos by means of the Portia winery (2010), a building in the shape of a three-pointed star, two of which (ageing and crianza) are partially buried, while the third (fermentation) is exposed, in keeping with the wine production process. Its design combines the balance between materials and shapes and between architecture and landscape.

Spanish wineries: Laguardia (Santiago Calatrava), Elciego (Frank O. Gehry), Logroño-Laguardia (Philippe Mazières), Gumiel de Izán (Norman Foster), Logroño and Barbastro (Jesús Marino Pascual).

This brief historical tour of wineries concludes in Navarre, where the great architectural wineries generally avoid the spectacular in order to blend in with the landscape and culture of each location.

In Olite is the Bodegas framework Real (1989), one of the first works of the Estellan architect Patxi Mangado, with which he wanted to reinvent this subject of facilities with an avant-garde design that takes industrial architecture as reference letter and in whose horizontality a spectacular cylindrical viewpoint stands out. Mangado designed a diaphanous winery that perfectly combines construction materials to create a renewed setting where nature and architecture establish an intense dialogue.

The Señorío de Otazu winery is located in Echauri (1994-1998), where the team formed by architects José Luis Sota, Jaime Gaztelu and Ana Fernández was in charge of building the new 9,000 square metre winery, preserving the heritage of the old 12th century manor. In the shadow of the old 19th century winery, the new one was built, in which the most spectacular feature is the colossal conference room of barrels, nine underground concrete vaults that support the weight of the garden and constitute one of the most important architectural projects in the world of wine; this space is sample "solemn like the naves of our cathedrals, but with the seclusion and stealthy penumbra of the primitive Romanesque monasteries", thus linking with an entire millenary building tradition.

In specific terms, we would like to echo the words of Román Felones when he states that "there are wineries for all tastes: family or industrial, semi-detached or free-standing, traditional or from design, buried or suspended, aggressive or blending in with the landscape... But there are some that have also incorporated a differential and unique element: a good architectural project that distinguishes and exalts them".

In this journey through wine tourism and architecture in Tierra Estella, the first reference letter corresponds to the extension of the Irache Winery in Ayegui, carried out by the aforementioned Patxi Mangado in 1991; its sober brick structure houses an interior divided into naves separated by semicircular arches that imbue the whole with a mysterious and secluded atmosphere for an authentic "cathedral of wine".

At the beginning of the 21st century, in 2001, Bodegas Valcarlos was built in Los Arcos, in honour of the first village on the Camino de Santiago; in fact, its tower, illuminated as a lighthouse at night, serves as reference letter for pilgrims. The almost fortified appearance of the exterior gives way inside to a modern and spectacular conference room of barrels.

A year later, in 2002, the Señorío de Arínzano winery was inaugurated, the work of Rafael Moneo, who restored the three old buildings on the estate - a palace, a large house and a church - and transferred the spirit of Pliny the Younger's villa, which produced wine for sale in ancient Rome, to the site; even a modern concrete "triumphal arch" marks the point of access to the estate from the road. The architect from Tudela conceived a landscaped winery, totally integrated into the surroundings, in whose structure of straight lines and flat façades in the shape of a large "C" that embraces the ancient monumental complex, the bush-hammered concrete of the walls in the colour of the local limestone stands out, the copper roof so that over time it will take on the green tones of the surroundings, and the interior of the conference room barrel cellar, with its two-sided roof of Greek pine supported by arborescent pillars, in the framework of which is a suspended walkway to control the barrels, giving it a quasi-religious atmosphere.

In the same year, 2002, work began on the Pago de Larráinzar winery in Irache, which was completed in 2006. The project was designed by the architect Fernando Redón, who conceived a structure of four juxtaposed modules organised in the form of a checkerboard pattern that combines with sobriety and elegance lines, colours and noble materials to create a modern winery that is totally respectful of its surroundings.

In 2003 the Tándem winery was born in Lácar, the work of Josecho Vélaz and Iván Fernández, whose exterior of exposed concrete in the form of a large partially buried cube has a large skylight that is illuminated at night to guide pilgrims on their way to Compostela, as in Los Arcos.

A short distance from the previous one, in a privileged viewpoint of the Yerri Valley between Grocin and Zurucuain, is Bodegas Aroa, whose initial construction in 1998 was the object of an extension in 2010 at position by Resano Soler Arquitectos, who conceived an avant-garde design building understood as an appendix inseparable from its enclave, in such a way that both generate a new harmonious reality. Thus, above the practically buried winery emerges a powerful volume of faceted geometry that evokes the natural traces of the terrain and seeks to dialogue with it in an abstract language in which the stained and broken concrete walls and its wooden plank roof recompose the geographical features that characterise the place; and between both volumes of continuous but fragmented concrete and wood slides a glazed strip that enables the interior lighting and allows one to enjoy the magnificent views of the surroundings.

Wineries in Navarra: Arínzano (Rafael Moneo), Ayegui (Fernando Redón), Lácar (Josetxo Vélaz and Iván Fernández) and Zurucuain (Resano-Soler Arquitectos).

Finally, to the above we could add a group of wineries that in their architectural proposal adopt different solutions, such as Quaderna Via in Igúzquiza (2003), medieval poetry for an ecological production winery; Emilio Valerio in Dicastillo (2008-2009), wine and oil from the southern slopes of Montejurra; and Barón de Ley in Mendavia, a wine cathedral in a former Benedictine monastery. All of them make up just a selection of the rich and suggestive panorama offered by the wineries and wine architecture in Tierra Estella, which concludes this historical tour of this architectural typology.

Bibliography

Corcuera, A., Wineries II. Architecture & Design. Wineries II. Architecture and design, Barcelona, Kliczkowski, 2008.
Díaz del Río, M. M., La tecnología de elaboración del vino como factor determinante del design constructive de las bodegas, Logroño, Universidad de La Rioja, 2016.
Felones, R., "Enoturismo y arquitectura", Diario de Navarra, July 26, 2012, p. 13.
Harte, H. and Terrier, J., Wineries: architecture & design. Wineries: architecture and design, Barcelona, Loft Publications, 2004.
Moretti, G., "Tradition and innovation in the winemaking landscapes of Mendoza (Argentina) and California (USA)", 3rd International seminar of Agroindustrial Heritage, Peso de Régua (Portugal), 2012, s. p.
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