Village of Wine: Rethinking Winery Architecture Through a Village Typology

The project Village of Wine, designed by Krzysztof Zachariasz, Kacper Ławniczek, and Zuzanna Zdanowicz, emerges as a critical exploration of contemporary winery architecture. Shortlisted for Pour 2020, the proposal moves beyond the conventional singular winery building to establish a distributed, multi-functional complex embedded within the South African landscape.

At its core, the project challenges the traditional production-centric winery model by integrating hospitality, tourism, gastronomy, and recreation into a cohesive architectural system. Rather than isolating industrial processes, the design reframes them as part of a broader spatial narrative, allowing visitors to engage with wine production as an experiential journey.

A Village as Architectural Strategy

The defining concept of the project lies in its adoption of a village typology. Instead of a monolithic structure, the winery is conceived as a constellation of smaller volumes organized around an inner courtyard. This strategy introduces a human-scaled spatial order while enabling functional differentiation.

Production spaces, service areas, and visitor programs are interconnected through a network of passages, terraces, and open courtyards. These interstitial spaces become critical in shaping movement, social interaction, and visual continuity across the site.

The fragmentation of mass also allows for carefully curated views. Openings between buildings frame the surrounding vineyards, creating a constant visual dialogue between architecture and terroir. This approach positions the vineyard not as a backdrop, but as an active spatial component of the project.

Programmatic Integration and Spatial Flow

The project organizes a wide range of functions into a coherent system. Alongside wine production facilities, the complex includes a hotel, gastronomic spaces, recreational areas, and dedicated zones for visitors.

The visitor journey is structured as a sequential experience. It begins in a presentation space, transitions through production areas, and culminates in elevated terraces and an experience pavilion. Outdoor tasting areas embedded within the vineyards reinforce the connection between consumption and origin.

This layered programming transforms the winery into a hybrid destination, where production and leisure coexist. The architecture supports both operational efficiency and experiential richness, reflecting contemporary trends in winery architecture where tourism plays a central role.

Relationship with Landscape and Materiality

Set within the South African countryside, the project seeks to integrate with its natural context through both form and material. The use of natural stone across external walls anchors the buildings visually within the terrain, reducing contrast and enhancing continuity.

Green roofs further extend the landscape onto the architecture, softening the built form and improving environmental performance. The horizontal spread of the complex ensures that it remains subordinate to the vast vineyard setting, avoiding visual dominance despite its scale.

The positioning of the complex along a visible edge of the site allows it to maintain accessibility while preserving the integrity of the agricultural landscape.

Environmental and Experiential Considerations

The design attempts to establish a symbiotic relationship between human activity and nature. By distributing functions and incorporating open spaces, the project promotes natural ventilation, daylight access, and spatial porosity.

At the same time, the experiential dimension is emphasized through elements such as meditation spaces, yoga areas, and recreational facilities. These additions expand the scope of winery architecture beyond production and tourism into wellness-oriented programming.

However, the environmental strategy remains more implicit than explicit, relying primarily on material choices and spatial configuration rather than advanced sustainability systems.

Juror Commentary and Critical Reflection

The project received a mixed but constructive response from the jury, highlighting both its strengths and areas for further development.

Anouk Legendre noted that the project adopts a "very classic" approach, appreciating the organization of programs within the village framework. However, she pointed out a lack of strong site-specific sensitivity and a limited environmental strategy.

Alejandro García Pedrón acknowledged the conceptual strength of the village idea, suggesting that it could have been developed with greater ambition and a more direct engagement with the terroir. He also observed that the wine production spaces appear secondary within the composition and could benefit from a more prominent architectural expression.

Additionally, he identified a tension between the industrial nature of the program and the chosen material palette, which emphasizes natural integration. This contrast raises questions about the coherence between function, form, and materiality.

Village of Wine represents a thoughtful attempt to redefine winery architecture through spatial fragmentation, programmatic diversity, and experiential design. Its village-based layout introduces a human-centered approach that prioritizes movement, interaction, and visual connection with the landscape.

While the project could further develop its environmental strategies and strengthen the identity of production spaces, it successfully positions the winery as a cultural and social destination rather than a purely industrial facility.

In doing so, it contributes to an evolving discourse in architecture where typologies are no longer fixed, but continuously reinterpreted to accommodate new forms of engagement between people, place, and production.