frank gehry: city of wine complex marques de riscal hotel

city of wine complex for marques de riscal by frank gehry

frank gehry‘s city of wine complex for marques de riscal winery in elciego, northern spain, opened to the public in 2006. the idea was to dramatically renovate the winery, which had changed little since 1860 and encourage tourist to the town, much like his guggenheim design enticed people to bilbao.

according to gehry, the building’s exterior reflects the colours of wine – with huge titanium panels tinted in pink to represent the burgundy hues of rioja. the silver is meant to be the foil that covers the cork, while gold represents the zig-zagging mesh that covers all marques de riscal bottles.

the complex’s surface is sheathed in titanium and stainless steel, the ‘skin’ hung over a series of giant squares of black rock with metallic wings.

inside, a glass elevator descends into the cellar which holds some 3,000 bottles.

the building houses a 43-room, five-star hotel, an exclusive restaurant, a spa offering ‘wine therapy’, a museum of viticulture, an extensive wine shop and luxury gardens to enjoy a glass alfresco. a stay at the hotel costs from 236 pounds to 810 pounds for a suite per night. read more.