The interior is the true central space of the project, composed of a triple-height and where the vats whose objective is the fermentation of the wine are located. This space is the spirit of the winery and around which the rest are articulated.
Two mentions in Architecture have also been awarded to the rehabilitation of the Historical Archive of Ourense and the Cornido Social Center, in A Coruña.
The jury for the Architecture Prize has been made up of the architects Toni Gironès, as president of the jury on behalf of the president of the CSCAE; José Manuel Gallego Jorreto, Alberto Campo Baeza (Gold Medal for Architecture 2019), Dolores Alonso, Elisa Valero, and the general secretary of Urban Agenda and Housing, Elena Simón.
Project description by Harquitectes
The challenge was for the winery itself to contribute to the elaboration of the wines - based on biodynamic processes - trying to achieve the optimal behavior of the building from passive or as few artificial principles as possible.
A Priorat wine producer that had been increasing its production needed a new winery, which would be established on a site located in the heart of the town of Gratallops.
The plot has a polygonal geometry in the shape of an 'L' and is surrounded by a typical urban structure of the historic center, with narrow streets and houses between party walls with the exception of the Church which, due to its uniqueness and dimension, has a dominant presence and It is the building that most defines the character of the place.
Inside the site, an irregular stone wall that had been an old pediment, and with a height of about 10 meters at the highest points, acts as a boundary with the neighbors. Its geometry, the amalgam of stones, ceramic screeds, and plastering remains, make this dividing wall a starting point for the project.
From the result of applying urban regulations, and with the desire to achieve a single large room with the maximum possible volume, two different areas are created: On the one hand, a large regular volume -the warehouse- where the productive part with a plant is located rectangular and the maximum width and height possible. On the other hand, we have the remaining space in the shape of a "Z" -the passage- that collects and takes advantage of the spaces that surround the nave and extends -like an interior street- following the geometry of the stone wall that acts as a dividing wall. This space is an extension of the public space within the site, it is the one that gives the main access to the site and serves as circulation and welcome space for visits and tastings.
The interior of the warehouse is a large triple-height space where the wine fermentation vats are located. This is the central space of the project, the one that really defines the winery and around which all the other spaces are articulated. A large volume of fresh air surrounded by very thick walls up to 1.75m thick protects it. A system of ceramic load-bearing walls, with multiple layers between pilasters that create chambers for air circulation -between walls- serves to cool the building. Within these large walls, some smaller rooms are also configured that serve to house the complimentary uses of the winery's activity.
On the ground floor, around the perimeter of the central space of the nave and following the rhythm of the structural pilasters of the walls, a series of cavities are opened as "chapels", which serve to visually connect the nave and the passage or to maneuver and store the necessary machinery in the winemaking room. Thus, the nave is dark and dense in height but on the ground floor, it expands, opening towards the light of the passage.
The passage is the reception space for the grapes and visitors. A thermal transition to the winery through a very gently sloping path that allows reaching the interior level of the warehouse and also connecting with the back street, overcoming the existing unevenness with steps. This semi-exterior route follows a succession of roofs at different heights combined with a series of slabs that act as wide landings between stairs. The roofs are green and the rainwater is stored until it overflows from one roof to another, slowly descending, slowing down, and making it walk through the entire passage, helping to refresh the environment and watering the vegetation. Apart from protecting from the rain, these slabs protect from direct solar radiation and guarantee that the passage enjoys a fresh environment, such as a terraced garden in which an open-air tent-tavern will be located where you can buy wine, do tastings or eat. something.
The most demanding spaces are the barrel area and the warehouse for already bottled wine, which need maximum hydro-thermal stability and for this reason is located in the basement in direct contact with the ground. But the great challenge of the building is the winemaking room -also very thermally demanding- which must achieve these conditions without interacting with the terrain. The first strategy is to have the maximum interior height possible to favor the stratification of the hot air in the upper part, away from the tubs. Second, the maximum possible inertia of its construction systems, helping to maintain internal hydro-thermal stability. The third bioclimatic strategy is the roof, which is its central part becomes a refreshing roof that takes advantage of the nocturnal radiation of the sky to cool the slab of the ship. A closed water recirculation system is created between two levels, an upper one in contact with the outside where the water dissipates heat during the night exchanging for radiation, and a lower one that, during the day, in contact with the slab, transmits the heat. freshness inside. There is a large-scale exchange between the interior of the ship and the temperature of the universe, which by radiation is an inexhaustible source of cooling.
The facades facing the street are crowned with a tile finish and covered with a thin layer of lime mortar that helps to contextualize the building within the town and that differentiates the exterior materiality of the building from that of the interior of the passage. From the outside, the building has a more vernacular presence but upon entering the passage the construction systems are deconstructed and progressively explain the nature of the building.
