Architecture studio RCR Architects was commissioned to build the new winery for the Perelada Group located in the town of Perelada, a wine-growing area north of the city of Gerona, near the border with France.

The proposed proposal sought a harmonious connection with the environment both in its formal relationship with the natural exterior and in achieving an interior where the exterior light sculpted the underground interior in a balanced way.

The lighting work was entrusted to the Artec Studio, which studied the natural lighting conditions proposed by the project to adapt the proposed artificial lighting to the conditions of its geographical location, hybridizing the work carried out by natural light with artificial light. A dialogue that sought to discover the architecture, connecting with the essence of the place and transmitting the narrative of the wine at the same time.

The lighting project has been awarded an IALD Award of Excellence in 2023 and a LIT Award in 2022.
New Perelada Winery designed by the RCR Architects architecture studio in collaboration with Artec Studio, is an architectural project in which light plays the greatest role. Making the lighting system go unnoticed, but highlight the architecture and content of the winery, providing a high quality of expression and comfort in the spaces, was the biggest challenge.

There was no possibility of lighting many of the spaces inside the building naturally because the building is semi-buried, but we wanted to maintain the feeling of being underground by incorporating lighting from the ground, which, together with natural light, In some of the spaces, it generates a scenography of volumes and perspectives that evoke Egyptian temples.


New Perelada Winery by RCR Architects. Photograph by Pep Sau.


New Perelada Winery by RCR Architects. Photograph by Hisao Suzuki.
 

Project description by RCR Architects

The new Grupo Perelada winery has been designed by RCR Arquitectos in harmonious integration with the environment, and the lighting project, natural and artificial, has been designed with the same objective: Light, architecture and oenology to delight.

One of the challenges in the new warehouse was to take advantage of natural light, to be able to work with sunlight ten meters underground, in the tank area, reaching 200 lux in the workplace despite being an underground construction. . To achieve this, a study of natural light was carried out to adapt the lighting proposal according to the coordinates of the geographical location. Adjustments to the architectural design of the skylights were also proposed. It was proposed that all natural light entries be flared slots, like windows in Romanesque temples, to achieve maximum natural light entry. A more translucent glass was also proposed so that the light entered softly, without generating shadows in the work areas. Natural light sensors turn on the luminaires regulated by the Dali protocol when the levels drop below 200 lux.


New Perelada Winery by RCR Architects. Photograph by Hisao Suzuki.


Another challenge was to integrate the lighting systems so that they would go unnoticed, so that the artificial light would enhance the architecture and content of the winery, providing a high quality of expression and comfort in spaces that did not have natural light. Artificial light is incorporated into the flared slots so that the luminaires go unnoticed, generating the perception that the origin of natural light is the same as that of artificial light. This arrangement is complemented in certain areas with linear lighting integrated in detail into the floor so that the relationship between the wine and the land can be felt, allegorically, in the spaces.
 
The liturgy of the visit begins through El Laberinto, a tour of projections that explain the concept of wine at the Perelada wineries. The light emerges from the ground and accompanies us with the sensation of being underground giving life to the route, like the roots to the vines. The hallway that leads to the bottle rack is a composition of lights and shadows generated by the vertical openings of the architecture itself, and in the room called “Temple” the natural and artificial light generate a scenography of volumes and perspectives that evoke Egyptian temples. .
 
The barrel area is shown to us through the light that bathes the vertical concrete slats or steles and the ceiling and introduces us to the nobility and greatness of the wine.


New Perelada Winery by RCR Architects. Photograph by Pep Sau.
 
The lighting control allows each space to be adapted to the light it needs at each moment of the journey.
 
In terms of sustainability, the new Perelada winery is a pioneer in Europe in obtaining LEED Gold certification for its minimal impact on the environment. At a lighting level, very low consumption lighting is proposed that favors maximum use of natural light through the roof. Likewise, 100% of electrical consumption corresponds to certified renewable energy.

Artec Studio's lighting project for the New Perelada Winery has been awarded an IALD Awards of Excellence 2023 and a LIT Award 2022.

More information

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Architects
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Colaborators
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Artec Studio.- Maurici Ginés, Víctor Vinyamata, Núria Barat, Alessandra Bertolini, Fernando Rojo, Asia Sierra, Bernat Badia, Mauro Vásquez, Mariah Peláez, Verónica Agnolutto, Clara Massó.
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Client
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Grupo Peralada.
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Area
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19,822 sqm.
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Dates
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Start.- 2016.
End.- 2022.
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Location
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Parage la Granja, s/n, 17491 Peralada, Girona.
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Manufacturers
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iGuzzini, Davide Groppi, LED Linear, Difusiona, LightGraphix, Luce & Ligh, Flos.
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Photography
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Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem and Ramon Vilalta, work together since 1988 under the name RCR ARQUITECTES in Olot. They are Premio Nacional de Cultura en Arquitectura 2005 by Generalitat de Catalunya, Chevaliers de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by Republique Française in 2008, honorary members by the AIA American Institute of Architecture 2010 and International Award 2011 "Belgian Building Awards". Since 1989 are architects advisors at Parque Natural de la Zona Volcánica de la Garrotxa and have been teachers of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture and Project. They have won different international competitions (the latter, the Waalsekrook media library in Belgium, the Soulages museum in France, Hofheide's crematorium in Belgium and The Edge Bussiness Bay in Dubai). They have received awards in his work among which two finalists positions in the awards of the European Union Mies Van der Rohe. Some of their awarded works have been exhibited in different events and published in several monographs.

RCR has shown the ability to think and transform that bring teamwork and the promotion of cultural initiatives from Bunka Foundation and workshops within the LAB-A in the Espacio Barberí, and have proven that it is possible to do international architecture from a rural environment, which is what has stimulated his imagination.

Following the work of RCR there is a philosophy which works for harmony between humans and nature. The most advanced technologies and materials such as steel or glass, with established rhythms and light that acts in opposition to each, are those that allow RCR this return to the essence of space that is the subject of architecture.

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Artec Light Studio is an independent studio founded by Maurici Ginés in 1998. With offices in Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Mexico City and New York, the studio collaborates with renowned clients worldwide and has been awarded internationally. It is dedicated to developing high-quality lighting experiences ranging from architectural lighting design, daylighting to custom product designs and light art installations through close and proactive relationships with its clients.

In its 25 years of experience, the studio has created light experiences in more than 1,000 projects, including cultural, residential, corporate, hotel, commercial, urban and landscape spaces. Its goal is to interact with people and their environment through light to bring to life meaningful experiences that inspire perception, knowledge and emotion.
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