Firm： Alonso Balaguer y Arquitectos Asociados

Type： Commercial › Office Industrial › Winery

YEAR： 2008

Protos' new facilities consist of a new winery and headquarters for social and

managerial representation. The building, answering to the critical special and

environmental conditions necessary for the elaboration of the wine, is

representative of Protos’ brand and joins Peñafiel's surroundings, providing

solutions that minimize the consumption of the energy necessary to maintain

optimal conditions. Energy saving is not only important, but inherent to its

design.

The new building connects with the former wine cellars (located in a series of

long corridors under the mountain of the historical and brightly restored Castle

of Peñafiel, future Museum of Wine) through a tunnel built under the divider

road.

The base of the building is buried, taking advantage of the thermal inertia and

placing the areas for production and maturation of the wine, interpreting in a

contemporary tone the traditional construction of the wineries. Anchored in the

area, this base regularizes the topography, creating a support for the light

covering that rests over it. This light covering is formed by a structure of

parabolic arches of laminated wood, reinterpreting the construction of shipshaped

wine cellars. Its consideration as a façade, regarding the sights from

the Castle of Peñafiel, becomes vital in the architectural composition of the

building.