The northern Spanish wine region of La Rioja already has enough spectacular star architect buildings. The winegrowers at Bodegas LAN are striking a softer note. Their new El Cortijo pavilion theatrically sets the scene for the landscape.
An elongated wooden structure rises up from the precisely arranged rows of vineyards in front of the imposing panorama of the Cantabrian Mountains. The elevated construction and the elongated viewing windows are reminiscent of a hunter’s hide. However, the tall wooden pavilion has nothing to do with hunting. Rather, El Cortijo, as the wooden structure is called, is a staged wine tasting room. A lookout point over the vineyards of northern Spain. Or, in the words of the architects: a high table in the landscape.
The winery is Viña Lanciano in the famous wine-growing region of La Rioja. Due to its special location at the foot of the Cantabrian Mountains, it has its own microclimate. Bordered by a wide loop of the River Ebro, the 72 hectares of the vineyard are surrounded by water. In this way, the vineyards are naturally protected from frost and extreme summer heat.
Creating space without consuming land
The winegrowers had long been aware that sustainable viticulture, modelled on the cycle of nature, would be practised in such a special place. When it came to creating a new experience space for their customers, sustainability was also a top priority here.
It was to be a space that allows the origin of the wine to be experienced without sealing the ground and permanently obstructing the landscape. ‘The volume rises out of the landscape and assumes a superior position, from where one overlooks the majestic landscape that is lovingly cared for and nurtured by Bodegas LAN,’ reads the project description.
The building is a subtly constructed landscape intervention. A machine that generates experiences and creates connections to nature.
J-AF Arquitectura und Studio Álvaro González Serrano
The project is the result of a collaboration between architect Jennyfher Alvarado Figueroa from J-AF Arquitectura and studio Álvaro González Serrano.In their joint concept, they describe the building as ‘a subtly constructed landscape intervention. A machine that generates experiences and creates connections to nature.’
Curtains up!
The entrance to El Cortijo is theatrically staged. The red colour of the curtain, which billows slightly in the wind, shines out at guests from afar. A red carpet can be seen close up, leading up the steps to the high-ceilinged tasting room and stretching all the way to the end. On it stands a table with 12 seats.
Like the proverbial red thread, the colourful stylistic element continues here: the openings in the walls are framed in red, the angle connectors of the construction are coloured red. This emphasis on the connecting elements indicates that the structure can be dismantled, which was considered from the outset.
Deconstructable design
The design of this covered table in the landscape is adapted to its temporary character. The timber frame construction consists of standard staggered timber on which the wooden panels are clamped into a second frame on the façade side.
It is a volume that lends order to the landscape and its elements.
J-AF Arquitectura und Studio Álvaro González Serrano
In this way, 33 of the 40 panels can be reused after dismantling, as they were not screwed together or damaged in any other way.
According to the team of architects, the structure creates two different situations: a human and inhabited level at a height with a respectful distance to the natural level below. ‘It is a volume that gives order to the landscape and its elements.’
In the northern Spanish wine-growing region of La Rioja, numerous renowned architects have already immortalised themselves with extraordinary buildings. From Frank Gehrys deconstructivist design for the Marqués de Riscal winery to Santiago Calatravas wave roof for Bodega Ysios and Zaha Hadids futuristic steel and glass construction for Bodegas López de Heredia Viña Tondonia.
Even if the temporary wooden wine pavilion can only be compared to these buildings to a limited extent, they are all based on the same desire: to add an architectural experience to the wine. In the case of El Cortijo, it is an experience that does not celebrate itself, but rather the immediacy of the surrounding nature and carefully cultivated landscape.
Text: Gertraud Gerst
Fotos: Josema Cutillas
