five different studios present proposals for winery inside a cave in italy

five studios: andrea caputo, architecten DVVT, francesco librizzi, muller van severen and studio architectture were invited to present their visions for the ‘enoteca dai tosi design contest’; a competition that will see the realisation of a three-level winery inside one of the caves in the historical city of matera, italy.

the contest was initiated by gian paolo buziol, the youngest son of the buziol family. the idea of establishing a winery in matera (a UNESCO world heritage site) came from the desire to combine the history of wine, the context and design. the chosen vision will become a meeting place where visitors can savor the stories of a carefully selected range of regional italian wines. given the theme ‘only whatever touches wine’, the brief states the only materials allowed are those that come in contact with wine during its production. this includes: glass, cork, oak and chestnut wood, stainless steel, fiberglass, concrete and terracotta. the winning scheme will be inaugurated in may 2017, with the three finalists announced in january 2017.

see all five of the creative visions below:

andrea caputo

milan-based firm andrea caputo explores the limestone ‘tufo’ the same material used in matera’s rooms, roads and courtyards.

‘we designed a platform for this new scene, introducing a foreign element into the homogeneous space of the historic city: a metal deck that descends from street level down to the levels of excavated stone. the metal surface, cold and re ective, is an evocation of the river that once owed in ancient times on via buozzi and fed the underground cisterns. the metal deck enhances the stone masses of the rock through its contrast as it is laid out over the existing oors, and is separated from the walls, leaving a respectful distance between them. the deck is where all bar xtures, plants and equipments are housed, avoiding invasive interventions on existing walls and vaults.’ – andrea caputo

muller van severen

belgian studio muller van severen has submitted a concept that explores the symbiosis between art, design and wine. like a story, the interior will focus on greenery and feature a ‘wine wall’ made of stone.

‘the story begins when entering the enoteca: in an oasis of greenery by the grapevines, because this is literally the beginning of wine, and of our wine story. the perspective in the patio guides us inside, through the terracotta floor, which acts as a guide through the project, like a walk accented by an earthy colour. we literally form the basis: the earth on which we have begun to build and create…’

‘the walk through the enoteca leads us to the end of the property, the end of the process, but is also the highlight of our story: the wine, the pride of the enoteca. the glass partition provides a glimpse of our wine collection, presented by a ‘wine wall’.’ – fien muller & hannes van severen

studioerrante architetture

studioerrante architetture will have archaic references that characterize matera’s landscape. the primitive cisterns, canal treatment systems, rock engravings, excavations will be reflected in the use of material and the sequence of concave and convex rooms.

‘since the entrance to the building a flight of stairs sinuously twist and turn inside the hollow volume: the stair is a sculptural element which adapts itself to the excavated nature of the sasso and origins itself a sequence of rooms concave and convex which are reverberating at every level. concave and convex.’ – studioerrante architetture

architecten DVVT

architecten DVVT’s concept stems from architecture and dilemma. their design is rooted in matera’s historical character and the design will directly represent the meticulous making of wine.

architecten DVVT

‘matera does not want to be different. and should not be different. strong yet fragile. so real and yet unique. looking forward, but rooted in the past. history and hope. beauty and – beauty. if the glass holds the wine. if the bottle opens the wine. if the barrel ripens the wine. if the grapevine grows the wine. and if the grape embraces the wine – then what house is worth the wine? the wine has always been at home.’ – architecten DVVT

francesco librizzi

francesco librizzi will combine metallic and terrazzo materials to create a winery that unfolds in a sequence of unexpected rooms that trace back to matera’s ancestral memory.

‘the new enoteca dai tosi will be a continuous sequence of rooms with a strong identity, each acting as a character with a different role. the entrance is through a patio, the scene for outdoor relations, where a portal/facade underlines the urban role of the new place. the relevant depth of the space is immediately mediated through a series of terraced steps which turns the descent into livable social platforms: an inner belvedere.’ – francesco librizzi

‘the original material nature of the cave is enhanced by the use of a continuous paving made out terracotta fragments mixed with concrete and sands from the local stone. an alchemical “terrazzo” able to mix mediterranean memories from the past and the future’

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