DESERT WINERY
Yinchuan, Ningxia Province, China
Project
Winery Masterplan, Landscape, Guest Residences, and Interiors
Client
Fei Tswei
Size
5,000 sqm / 54,000 sqft Winery
Collaborators
Yinchuan City Design & Research Institute of Planning and Architectural Co. Ltd., Arup
Awards
RVF China Best Winery Architecture
Ningxia’s growing wine region is located in North Central China, on the border of Inner Mongolia with the Gobi Desert. With an arid climate, rocky granite soils and the proximity of the yellow river it has become the fastest growing wine making region China. The Yellow River feeds the growing viniculture and agriculture, forming a protective green band between the wind driven sands of Gobi desert to the North and the large population centers to the South.
CONCEPT
When we met the owners of the winery, the main winery building was under construction and they were looking for an overall unifying concept for their project. We worked to develop a formal and material language that would unite the interior of the winery, landscape, and new buildings. Inside, we developed a palate of timber lines and planes that would bring warmth and contrast to the existing concrete structural shell and allow display of wine, wine making, and cultural artifacts from the region. Spaces were composed to create a sequence of movement and variation between entrances, galleries, tasting rooms, and the process of wine making.
