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Spanish Winery Goes Off the Grid
Built in just 15 days, a new winery in Majorca, Spain, is completely self-sustaining.
The winery—which has a cork-insulated roof to assist with temperature control—is solar-powered, and was designed by local firm Munarq Arquitectes.
According to the architecture firm’s website, there are three elements that must be factored in when constructing a winery: production, location and climate. In the wine world, this is known as “terroir.”
Pau Munar and Rafel Munar, both employed by Munarq Arquitectes, were asked to design a 1,300-square meter (4,265 square foot) facility for the Son Juliana wine company. What the company needed was space to produce 40,000 liters (10,566 gallons) of wine a year.
The winery itself is located on flat, clay terrain, extending toward the Tramuntana mountains. While the building also runs parallel to the mountain range, the exterior of the concrete structure also reflects local color by being covered in pieces of sandy-colored marés stone.
Since the company was in a hurry to get the facility built, the architects built in a prefabricated concrete structure, which took only 15 days. The firm also made a point of using local materials, like the aforementioned marés stone. They also noted that they used ceramic brick for the interior finishing walls.
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Since the company was in a hurry to get the facility built, the architects built in a prefabricated concrete structure, which took only 15 days. |
The most unique element of this structure is that it is 100 percent powered by renewable energy—meaning it’s completely off the grid.
The linear design of the building—from east to west—works with the production needs of the facility, from grapes entering the eastern end of the building, to being moved to a pressing room, then an underground fermentation space and, finally, to a barrel room for maturing.
On the western end of the building—and the end of the production process—the wines are bottled and labeled. From there, the wine is stored in a cool space that runs alongside the sales room, where there is also a tasting area.
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The linear design of the building—from east to west—works with the production needs of the facility, from grapes entering the eastern end of the building, to being moved to a pressing room, then an underground fermentation space, and, finally, to a barrel room for maturing. |
In response to the cold, windy climate of the region—given the facility is on flat, clay terrain—the winery itself was built into the basement, to ensure it maintained the special required temperature and humidity conditions.
“The retaining walls are stone gabions to take advantage of the thermal mass and soil moisture that remained during the summer," the architects wrote on their website. “The contribution of ventilation and temperature is carried through pipes connected to geothermal heat pumps."
