herzog and de meuron dominus winery yountville, ca 1997

<strong>herzog</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>de</strong> <strong>meuron</strong><br />

<strong>dominus</strong> <strong>winery</strong><br />

<strong>yountville</strong>, <strong>ca</strong><br />

<strong>1997</strong>

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elationship to lo<strong>ca</strong>tion<br />

The Dominus Estate is lo<strong>ca</strong>ted east of San Francisco in<br />

Yountville, California which is part of the Napa region,<br />

renowned for its wine industry. The <strong>winery</strong> is situated along a<br />

north-south axis <strong>and</strong> crosses the main access road through<br />

the vineyard perpendicularly, making it the central hub of the<br />

estate with ample views in all directions. The simple<br />

rectangular form is <strong>de</strong>signed to disappear into the<br />

l<strong>and</strong>s<strong>ca</strong>pe <strong>and</strong> not to compete with the lo<strong>ca</strong>l natural<br />

beauty.

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ackground <strong>and</strong> signifi<strong>ca</strong>nce<br />

This project, the first Ameri<strong>ca</strong>n project from Herzog <strong>and</strong> <strong>de</strong> Meuron, is a beautiful interpretation<br />

of blending nature <strong>and</strong> architecture to create this unique piece of art. By reinventing a current<br />

technology, the gabion (most commonly used for retaining structures along highways <strong>and</strong> rivers),<br />

becomes the exterior wall cladding. The rocks used to fill the metal wire baskets are a lo<strong>ca</strong>l<br />

basalt further connecting the building to its l<strong>and</strong>s<strong>ca</strong>pe. The gabion structure is highly functional<br />

as well, regulating heat <strong>and</strong> light into appropriate areas of the building according to use. The<br />

economi<strong>ca</strong>l efficiency created by construction methods <strong>and</strong> materials put this building at the<br />

forefront of experimental techniques <strong>and</strong> approaches to <strong>de</strong>sign.

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plan floor 2<br />

plan floor 1

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context of contemporary fabri<strong>ca</strong>tion <strong>and</strong> <strong>de</strong>sign<br />

Herzog <strong>and</strong> <strong>de</strong> Meuron have mel<strong>de</strong>d together st<strong>and</strong>ard<br />

economi<strong>ca</strong>l techniques with unique, environmentally<br />

conscience methods to create a one of a kind piece of<br />

artwork that belongs in its l<strong>and</strong>s<strong>ca</strong>pe <strong>and</strong> works<br />

functionally as a workplace.

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materials<br />

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methods of construction<br />

The <strong>winery</strong> is constructed with a conventional economic warehouse formation. The overall<br />

concrete structure leads to a steel frame structure on the upper floor where the office area is<br />

lo<strong>ca</strong>ted which combined becomes the backbone for the protective exterior cladding of stone<br />

contained within metal wire baskets, gabions. A combination of varying wire sizes <strong>and</strong> wire<br />

mesh are assembled <strong>and</strong> then lo<strong>ca</strong>l basalt is crushed into three sizes <strong>and</strong> filled into the baskets.<br />

The largest stones are lo<strong>ca</strong>ted at the office level, medium stones are lo<strong>ca</strong>ted on the mezzanine<br />

level <strong>and</strong> smallest stones are lo<strong>ca</strong>ted on the cellar level.

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The Dominus Winery constructs a rusti<strong>ca</strong>ted affect through<br />

an exterior gabian wall of wire mesh <strong>ca</strong>ges filled with<br />

smaller stones at the bottom <strong>and</strong> larger stones at the top,<br />

creating a complex visual pattern of stones <strong>and</strong> crevices.<br />

The varying size of the stones <strong>and</strong> the rock-like appearance<br />

of the wall play on traditional rusti<strong>ca</strong>tion in a wall<br />

that is in fact highly crafted <strong>and</strong> constructed.<br />

office level<br />

mezzanine level<br />

cellar level

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materials + technique=<br />

specific effects<br />

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