Description

Awakening the senses, creating an emotional connection and long-lasting experience is the secret of a great wine according to Jose Bento dos Santos, being able to produce a wine that ´we can feel´ with all our senses and that is able to stay with us. We relate this concept to our design philosophy, which is to be able to provoke a feeling of belonging and connection to the natural environment. We feel connected when we belong and we belong when we feel connected. Being able to use all our senses is a way of creating this feeling of interrelation to the surroundings.

The existing wine estate Quinta do Monte d’Oiro located in Freixial de Cima is an old wine estate with a great reputation, and the name ´Monte d´Oiro´ which means ´golden hill´ pictures its beautiful golden glow and outstanding atmosphere that we have integrated in our design. The Estate is located on a small hill overlooking the valley planted with the vines of this old protuguese winery. The strong point of the ‘Genius Loci’ of the area is the orientation of the main courtyard with the chapel, towards the wine valley, with an open view to the grapes and vines of their own estate. The designed programme enhances this main quality and makes this relation stronger and more substantial. Getting inspired from the Portuguese documentary ´Tudo e Paisagem´ by Duarte Natario, our design concept relies on being able to design with nature and not against nature, to create the perfect relation between environment and construction. We use what is already there by trying to understand the Genius Loci (spirit) of the space and we find ways to merge our design to the existing structure. Consequently we have shaped the new design into a soft landscaped tribune overlooking the vineyard, creating therefore appealing unobstructed views on the surrounding valley and hills. Furthermore we have designed an inner courtyard connecting the existing building to the new volumes of the restaurant and meeting rooms.

We have reconnected the main access road to the new buildings of the estate and we have given it the same function as it has now. To achieve the landscaped shape we have built up the whole design with layers of 50cm following the isohypses of the existing slopes. The layers have been planted with green to connect to the surrounding environment and to make the new designed buildings softer, more sensitive and well integrated in the existing natural landscape.