The Monte d’Oiro Wine Tasting Experience
Alenquer, Portugal
Competition
2020
Besides adding a wine tasting room to the Quinta do Monte D’Oiro, the project seeks to strengthen the guest experience of the winery by improving the connection between the proposed site, the existing facilities, and the surrounding landscape. A new belvedere terrace is proposed to connect the two ends of the property, converging into a visually unobstructed arrival point that overlooks the vineyards. To support the new terrace and wine tasting room structure, a dry stacked stone retaining wall wraps and secures the corner of the hill. By placing the wine tasting room 4m below the arrival point, guests are invited to find shelter in a cork-cladded cave canopied by a concrete waffle slab cantilevered on one corner. The structural grid of the canopy and furniture layout align with the linear patterns of the vineyards below, further emphasizing the connection and sense of balance between the architectural addition and the land. Sliding glass doors can enclose the space if necessary, but can be retracted and hidden in the walls most of the year thanks to the beautiful weather that characterizes the region, leaving the corner view to the landscape completely open and free of obstructions. The interior space extends onto an outdoor terrace, where the 30 cm wide railing doubles as an informal wine tasting platform. This configuration and use of materials allows the space to be naturally ventilated, protected from the sun, and thermally stable throughout the year. A study of the circulation and accessibility of the site led to the integration of a lifting system into the proposed design to create a more direct and comfortable connection between the tasting room and the fields below; the lift will take guests down to a tunnel 9 m below and will suddenly immerse them into the vines. With the strategic placement of the wine tasting room as the heart of the experience, Quinta do Monte d’Oiro’s latest addition will bring improved site connectivity, a strengthened identity , and a memorable journey through local flavors and materiality.
