The proposal for the extension of the Quinta do Vallado Winery seeks to reconcile the practical needs related to winemaking with a smooth integration in the landscape. The new volumes try in this way to establish an at once tense and balanced long-term relationship with the existing buildings and the topography, melding into the hillside while remaining an artificial object in its context.

The new buildings – fermentation warehouse, barrel cellar and reception – are added with respect towards the existing ones. The extension of the winery that functions by gravity demanded an understanding of the whole productive system, and required great precision in the layout of the building’s quotas and the climatic conditions of the facilities. The barrel cellar, in particular, has the necessary mass for a correct thermal insulation. Formally it constitutes a prismatic volume on the exterior, and vaulted in the interior. The air chamber between the vault arch and the retaining wall acts as a ventilation space and also conceals services. Carried out with reinforced concrete and with a rough interior finish, the new structures are clad with local burnt shale worked in a contemporary way.