The growing of grapes is a natural process embedded into a particular region and adapting to specific geographic conditions. Nevertheless, a substantial component of viticulture is artificial through the disruption of the landscape and irrigation of the vines. In an area of severe drought, such as the Baja region, the resource-intensive production of wine requires extensive human curation of the natural environment to make this production possible. This project addresses the paradox of how environmental integration and artificiality are perceived in the design of a winery. The winery explores this perception through a binary between how the building is understood as an integrated part of the landscape from its interior, and how the winery is perceived in relation to the hillside of boulders where it is sited.
The winery is designed as a series of two planes: an artificial plane and a natural plane. The artificial plane is a series of public roof terraces that are an extension of the existing terrain: a bizarre field of boulders intermingled with vineyards. The natural plane exists below this, embedded in the carved bedrock and containing much of the wine-making processes. A series of environmentally productive objects mediate these two planes, providing light, ventilation and activation to the programming within the winery.