alvisi kirimoto opens the bulgari winery in tuscany

‘bulgari winery’ by alvisi kirimoto + partners, siena, southern tuscany, italy
image © fernando guerra / fg+sg fotografia de arquitectura
all images courtesy of alvisi kirimoto + partners

the newly opened bulgari winery is nestled within the picturesque chianti hills near the small town of san casciano dei bagni. local architects alvisi kirimoto + partners have designed a sensible structure of reinforced concrete and progressive layers of transparency partly embedded into the topography. the building acts as an extension to the landscape, leaving as small of a carbon footprint as possible while adhering to the strict requirements of a winery. from inside the structure, layers of glass and floating metal planes form a sequence of rooms that allows the visitor to view and understand the entire process of wine making, from the vineyards down to the maturation barrels. this is made perfectly evident from the tasting room which contains a direct sight line down the production side and the natural exterior. upon entering the building from the loading dock, one finds themselves between the storage areas to their left and the final bottling processes, stairs to the upper level and the staff and administrative areas to their right separated by a long corridor. using the earth as natural insulation, each room is able to achieve the ideal temperature and humidity levels with minimum energy. a green roof insulates the public spaces above ground while helping to blend the building into the landscape. thin metal shades project out over the front patio accessed by the same corridor and break down the large scale of the concrete elements. each component and material choice that makes up the structure holds a specific function for performance but is also designed to complement the color palette of the site.

image © fernando guerra / fg+sg fotografia de arquitectura

image © fernando guerra / fg+sg fotografia de arquitectura

image © fernando guerra / fg+sg fotografia de arquitectura

image © fernando guerra / fg+sg fotografia de arquitectura

image © fernando guerra / fg+sg fotografia de arquitectura

image © fernando guerra / fg+sg fotografia de arquitectura

image © fernando guerra / fg+sg fotografia de arquitectura

image © fernando guerra / fg+sg fotografia de arquitectura

image © fernando guerra / fg+sg fotografia de arquitectura

vat cellar
image © fernando guerra / fg+sg fotografia de arquitectura

image © fernando guerra / fg+sg fotografia de arquitectura

tasting room
image © fernando guerra / fg+sg fotografia de arquitectura

image © fernando guerra / fg+sg fotografia de arquitectura

image © fernando guerra / fg+sg fotografia de arquitectura

image © fernando guerra / fg+sg fotografia de arquitectura

image © fernando guerra / fg+sg fotografia de arquitectura

next to the chianti hills
image © fernando guerra / fg+sg fotografia de arquitectura

image © fernando guerra / fg+sg fotografia de arquitectura

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project info:

client: podernuovo a palazzone of giovanni and paolo bulgari
location: palazzone – san casciano dei bagni (siena), southern tuscany, italy
architectural design: alvisi kirimoto + partners
structural engineering: esaprogetti – eng. cianfrini, tecno studio – eng. lattini
mechanical and electrical engineering: studio tecnico emanuele mucci and fabrizio corridori
other consultants: ing. pupo (process systems); toscana project srl (project management)
contractor: alto soc. coop
building: 4.500 square meters
offices: 115 square meters
parking area: 1.300 square meters
vat cellar: 475 square meters
cellar: 415 square meters
tasting area: 86 square meters
design: 2009-2010
opening: april 2013
photographs: all photos are by fernando guerra | fg+sg fotografia de arquitectura