Dezeen Magazine

Rippling robot-carved stone facade defines winery by Carl Fredrik Svenstedt Architect

Carl Fredrik Svenstedt Architect has designed a curving facade carved out of sandstone by a robot for the Delas Frères Winery in France's Rhône Valley.

Delas Freres Winery by Carl Fredrik Svenstedt Architects

The winery and wine shop were built next to a historic Manor House, which is one of the many vineyards that cover the terraced hillsides above in Tain l'Hermitage that have been cultivated since the Roman era.

Carl Fredrik Svenstedt Architect used standstone quarried down the river in Provence to create the unique facade. The winery is included in the New Stone Age exhibition at London's Building Centre, which demonstrates projects that use stone as a structural material in contemporary buildings.

Delas Freres Winery by Carl Fredrik Svenstedt Architects

"This winery is built to be touched," said the studio.

"The tender, relatively light sandstone is ideally adapted to massive stone construction, being workable and best in thick structural blocks."

Delas Freres Winery by Carl Fredrik Svenstedt Architects

Stone blocks, half a metre thick, form a curving main wall for the winery and wine shop that is eighty metres long and seven metres high.

Its shape means it ripples on both the exterior wall facing the garden and on the interior facing the winery.

Delas Freres Winery by Carl Fredrik Svenstedt Architects

Each block was carved individually by a robot, wasting the minimum amount of stone.

The offcuts chips were turned into gravel for the winery's garden.

Delas Freres Winery by Carl Fredrik Svenstedt Architects

A father and son team of stonemasons then mounted the stone blocks using traditional techniques.

As well as providing a striking and tactile feature wall for the Delas Frères Winery, the porous stone is thermally inert – creating perfect conditions for the wine inside.

Delas Freres Winery by Carl Fredrik Svenstedt Architects

The pale stone also deflects sunlight from skylights in the visitors gallery away from the hall where the wine tanks and barrels are located.

Ramps through the winery allow visitors to observe the winemaking process.

Delas Freres Winery by Carl Fredrik Svenstedt Architects

At one end the ramps lead up to a roof terrace with views of the vineyards on the hills, at the other it goes down to the cellar under the manor house.

This existing structure has been renovated by Carl Fredrik Svenstedt Architect and turned into a guesthouse for visitors to the Delas Frères Winery.

Delas Freres Winery by Carl Fredrik Svenstedt Architects

A rough U shape is formed by the winery, guest house and wine shop, enclosing a landscaped garden.The guesthouse includes a restaurant, tasting rooms and bedrooms that overlook this garden.

A curved section of the  glazed shop facade bows inwards to make space for an existing chestnut tree.

Delas Freres Winery by Carl Fredrik Svenstedt Architects

Carl Fredrik Svenstedt Architect was founded by Swedish architect Carl Fredrik Svenstedt in 2000.

The studio also created a striking stone wall for a winery in Provence, staggering one-tonne blocks to create a gradually perforated facade.

Photography is by DG.


Project credits:

Architect: Carl Fredrik Svenstedt Architect
Client: Champagne Deutz, Delas Frères
Architecture team: Carl Fredrik Svenstedt, Boris Lefevre, Pauline Seguin, Thomas Dauphant, Marion Autuori, Benoit-Joseph Grange
Landscape: Christophe Ponceau and Melanie Drevet
Structural engineer: Becamel Mallard
Curved stone wall engineer: Atelier Graindorge and Stono
Thermal engineer: MAYA