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ANTINORI WINERY DESIGN BY ARCHEA ASSOCIATI
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ANTINORI WINERY DESIGN BY ARCHEA ASSOCIATI
The site is surrounded by the unique hills of Chianti, covered with vineyards, half-way between Florence and Siena. A cultured and illuminated customer has made it possible to pursue, through architecture, the enhancement of the landscape and the surroundings as expression of the cultural and social valence of the place where wine is produced.
The functional aspects have therefore become an essential part of a design itinerary which centres on the geo- morphological experimentation of a building understood as the most authentic expression of a desired symbiosis and merger between anthropic culture, the work of man, his work environment and the natural environment. The physical and intellectual construction of the winery pivots on the profound and deep-rooted ties with the land, a relationship which is so intense and suffered (also in terms of economic investment) as to make the architectural image conceal itself and blend into it.
The purpose of the project has therefore been to merge the building and the rural landscape; the industrial complex appears to be a part of the latter thanks to the roof, which has been turned into a plot of farmland cultivated with vines, interrupted, along the contour lines, by two horizontal cuts which let light into the interior and provide those inside the building with a view of the landscape through the imaginary construction of a diorama.
The façade, to use an expression typical of buildings, therefore extends horizontally along the natural slope, paced by the rows of vines which, along with the earth, form its “roof cover”. The openings or cuts discreetly reveal the underground interior: the office areas, organized like a belvedere above the barricade, and the areas where the wine is produced are arranged along the lower, and the bottling and storage areas along the upper. The secluded heart of the winery, where the wine matures in barrels, conveys, with its darkness and the rhythmic sequence of the terracotta vaults, the sacral dimension of a space which is hidden, not because of any desire to keep it out of sight but to guarantee the ideal thermo-hygrometric conditions for the slow maturing of the product.
A reading of the architectural section of the building reveals that the altimetrical arrangement follows both the production process of the grapes which descend (as if by gravity) – from the point of arrival, to the fermentation tanks to the underground barrel vault – and that of the visitors who on the contrary ascend from the parking area to the winery and the vineyards, through the production and display areas with the press, the area where vinsanto is aged, to finally reach the restaurant and the floor hosting the auditorium, the museum, the library, the wine tasting areas and the sales outlet.
The offices, the administrative areas and executive offices, located on the upper level, are paced by a sequence of internal court illuminated by circular holes scattered across the vineyard-roof. This system also serves to provide light for the guesthouse and the caretaker’s dwelling. The materials and technologies evoke the local tradition with simplicity, coherently expressing the theme of studied naturalness, both in the use of terracotta and in the advisability of using the energy produced naturally by the earth to cool and insulate the winery, creating the ideal climatic conditions for the production of wine.
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ARCHEA ASSOCIATI
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Founded in Florence in 1988 by Laura Andreini, Marco Casamonti and Giovanni Polazzi, Archea is today a network of more than 100 architects who work in the firm’s seven different branches in Florence, Milan, Rome, Beijing, São Paolo, Dubai and Teheran. The founding partners were joined in 1999 by Silvia Fabi who coordinates the design activities of Studio Archea in Florence.
The interests and research activities of the firm range from the landscape to the city, from buildings to design. Even if the focus is on architecture, the projects vary from graphic design to publishing, to exhibitions and events. The complementariness and the transition from a variety of scales ranging from criticism to the building site makes it possible to operate in a manner that contemplates all aspects and elements of architectural design. Each partner combines his or her principal interest with teaching and the conduction of research at the architecture faculties of Florence and Genoa, where architect Marco Casamonti is full professor of architectural and urban planning.
In 2008 Archea decided to adopt the ISO management system in order to optimize and rationalize the administrative and productive processes associated with architectural design, thus guaranteeing a constant quality level. The firm has therefore obtained UNI EN ISO 9001 certification from Moody International, both for the supply of architectural planning services and for the supervision of construction works.
In the course of the years the firm has participated in, and been invited to, highly prestigious national and international competitions, winning, among others, the competition for the Pirelli Office Building in the former Ansaldo area, the competition for the Archaeological Museum on the Salerno-Reggio Calabria highway and the competition by invitation for the construction of a more than 90 metres tall tower in the centre of Tirana, which is currently in construction.
The most important projects of the firm comprise: the Municipal library of Nembro (Bergamo), the transformation of the former Wine Warehouse of the harbour of Trieste, the social and educatoinal centre of Serence, the UBPA B3-2 Pavilion at the World Expo 2010, the Green Energy Laboratory for the Jiao Tong University in Shanghai and the city of ceramics near Li Ling (Hunan), in China, which is nearing completion.
CURRICULUM ARCHEA
Their principal activity, i.e. experimentation in the field of design and construction on various scales, from objects to buildings to town plans, is combined with extensive research activities in the field of architectural planning at different Italian architecture faculties. Specifically, Marco Casamonti is full professor in architectural planning at the architecture faculty of the University of Genoa and Laura Andreini is researcher at the architecture faculty of Florence. This activity has been accompanied by an intense work of in-depth analysis and critical reflection on architectural issues, diffused through treatises and writings which have been published in books and magazines in Italy and abroad, the organization and creation of exhibitions, events and workshops associated with architectural design. Marco Casamonti has since 1997 been chief editor of the international architecture magazine “Area”, and since 1999 he has been co-editor with Paolo Portoghesi of the magazine “Materia”, both of which are currently published by the Sole 24 ORE group. From 2006 to 2008 he has been scientific director of the Foundation of the “Annals of Architecture and the city, Naples”.
Many of the architectures realized by the firm have not only appeared in magazines and books of international repute, but also been chosen for prestigious architecture reviews and exhibitions. Archea has participated in many of the most important national and international architecture competitions and consultations, obtaining numerous recognitions and prizes: in 1999 the third prize for the new headquarters of the architecture faculty of Venice. In 2001 and 2002 the firm was shortlisted as candidate to design the rapid train stations in Turin and Florence; it was also invited by the Novoli property developer, as one of the nine Italian groups selected for the construction of a block in the former Fiat area in Florence, in 2003. In 2004 the firm was invited, together with architect Rafael Moneo, to participate in the competition for the new Cinema Palace of Venice. In 2005 it won the competition by invitations for the realization of one of the 10 towers to be built within the context of the master plan for the new centre of Tirana. In 2005 it won the international competition by invitation promoted by Pirelli Re and Morgan Stanley – in a tie with Michael Maltzan Architecture – for the former Ansaldo area in Milan in the Greater Bicocca area. In 2007 it was classified as number two within the context of the competition for the “Music and culture park of Florence” and since 2006 it has participated in numerous competitions in China including the important project for the Meixi Lake Cultural Center of Changsha, in 2011.
The firm has participated in, organized and ideated numerous exhibitions and events. In 1996 it was invited to participate in the Italian section of the VI International Architecture Exhibition of Venice with the Amusement Centre of Curno (BG); in 2002 it was invited to participate in the International Stone Architecture Exhibition and in the exhibition of Italian architecture in Tokyo titled “From futurism to a possible future” with the House in Leffe; in 2008 the design of the Nembro Library was selected for the exhibition of the Design Museum of London, and in 2010 it participated in the show “AILATI Riflessi dal futuro” within the context of the XII International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennial. In 2011, the MuBe, Brazilian Museum of Sculpture of São Paulo in Brazil, hosted the monographic exhibition “ARCHEA Sustainable Landmarks”, presented in 2012 at the T Art Center of Beijing.
The realized architectures of the firm comprise projects as the new Municipal Library of Nembro and the Albatros Camping of San Vincenzo, Livorno, of 2007. In 2008 the Edison Library in Livorno and in 2009 the new Town Hall of Merate, Lecco and the Municipal Library and Auditorium of Curno, Bergamo were inaugurated. In 2010 the firm realized the B3-2 Pavilion in the Urban Best Practices Area in Shanghai, within the context of the Universal Exposition. In 2011 the expansion and renovation of the Perfetti Van Melle plant in Lainate, Milan was completed; in 2012 the Green Energy Laboratory in Shanghai was opened.
Recently completed projects comprise the new Antinori Winery in San Casciano Val di Pesa, Florence and the new community and education centre of Seregno. Constructions nearing completion comprise the Tower of Tirana, Albania, the “Marvellous Island” in “the World” in Dubai, UAE, the Changri-La Winery in Penglai, the Li Ling World Ceramic Art City in China and the transformation of the former Wine Warehouse of the Harbour of Trieste.
The firm’s seven branches in Florence, Milan, Rome, Beijing, São Paolo, Dubai and Teheran currently employ about ninety professionals from different regions and universities in the world.
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http://www.archea.it/en/association/
