- Architecture & development
In a landscape created by human labour, we find a project by Alvisi Kirimoto. A winery built for Giovanni and Paolo Bulgari, tucked away among the hills of Chianti in Southern Tuscany, Italy. The new Bulgari vineyard in Podernuovo, San Casciano dei Bagni is surrounded by historic hot springs, villages and winding hills.
Alvisi Kirimoto is an Italian, international firm working in the fields of architecture, urbanism and design. Before they could start this project, they had to find the perfect location. Giovanni Bulgari and Massimo Alvisi visited the countryside around San Casciano together. The location needed to have ideal environmental conditions and beautiful views around the landscape. In the end, they found a landscape that is precisely and deliberately linear, and over the years cultivated for productive purposes. The winery is a succession of four parallel concrete walls painted in a clayish hue that follow the slope of the hill. 
The building is an extension of the surrounding arable landscape and the working-class culture that permeates its architecture. Although the building was designed with the eye on production, you can still find a lot of inspiration from the landscape in the architecture. Italian and Japanese principles also feature in the architecture. Maximising functionality and optimising distribution are the main concepts from which the project has grown.
Thanks to large glass walls in the open interior, all aspects of the wine production are visible. The building has three levels, with the spaces divided by a corridor. The inspiration behind this design was the concept of telescoping, creating an axis. Wherever you are, it is possible to look out over the Tuscan hills and the vineyard. It is designed with spaces accessible to the public in a way that minimises the impact on the environment.
Although the building was designed with the eye on production, you can still find a lot of inspiration from the landscape in the architecture.
The project is based on the idea that nature completes the building and not merely serves as decoration. Thus, the different levels are absorbed into the natural terrain, allowing it to penetrate the architecture. This choice resulted in strict geometry, as well as a sinuous production flow. Against the walls of the winery-, olive-, oak- and lime trees stand in an uninterrupted rhythm.
Giovanni and Paolo Bulgari demanded a rigorous, efficient and excellent winery. Alvisi Kirimoto has succeeded by taking advantage of the great environmental conditions and making the most of them. 
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Images courtesy of Alvisi Kirimoto