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The Siena countryside welcomes the Cantina Vinicola Podernuovo designed by Alvisi Kirimoto + Partners The architecture studio Alvisi Kirimoto + Partners of Rome, designed the Headquarters of the Cantina Vinicola Podernuovo in San Casciano dei Bagni, Siena. It is a harmonious addition to the landscape achieved after a careful study of the terrain and the surrounding environment. The Cantina Vinicola Podernuovo produces, preserves and bottles fine wines and its new headquarters appear to arise from the terrain of the countryside which welcomes this new structure as a natural enhancement of the landscape with its well-defined and symmetrical vineyards. The itinerary of the cantina’s vineyards, in fact, evidences this harmonious marriage of nature and architecture. When arriving at the cantina, the volume of the entire ensemble of structures is barely perceptible. Its roof in painted stainless steel rises from the ground much like the slope of a hill and the covering of grass which covers part of the structure confirms this impression while the presences of the building is barely seen. Observed from a hilltop, the building for wine production opens up towards the valley and is fully integrated in the landscape also thanks to its walls covered in natural stone. At the bottom of the main staircase, there’s a large terrace with one side next to the building for the wine cantina activities and another side overlooking the valley. The large block of buildings for the storage, stabilization and fermentation of wine (which covers a broad surface area of 340 square meters and has a height which varies from 5.50 to 6.80 meters) holds the vats in wood and stainless steel which have a total capacity of about 3,400 hectoliters. This large space benefits from natural light thanks to a long horizontal glass window positioned at a height of more than 4.40 meters and two vertical windows which interrupt the rigidity of the stone covering of the building and allow the wine-making process to be observed from the outside. The zone for wine pressing and bottling, which is covered solely by a grid-work top woven through with greenery, is protected by an awning during the work processes and becomes very animated during harvests. The grid-work continues along the building and covers the offices and service areas. Two smaller, two-floor structures are on the other side and they hold further service facilities. At the same level as the main piazza, there’s an area reserved to personnel with two offices and a conference room with a glass wall and two lateral windows. The dressing-rooms, laboratory and service areas are at a depth of -4.90 meters and can be reached from the inside by an elevator or from the outside by stairs. Access to the storage area, bottling area and wine equipment is from here. These areas have floors in porcelain gres while their interior walls are white stucco. Going farther down, at a depth of about -10,20 meters, the barrel facility is located detached from the building and in a main position. Here, the wine is preserved in barriques made of French durmast, to ripen in the dim light. The vinification area is connected to it by internal stairs. This area has a surface of 400 square meters and it gets natural light only from a single window facing the surrounding countryside. This area has an industrial floor and a coffered ceiling. There is also a series of accessory spaces for services and storage. The project for the Cantina Vinicola Podernuovo was developed by the Alvisi Kirimoto + Partners studio. Its supporting structure was realized with steel beams and pillars which directly rest on the foundation on plinths or reversed beams. The roofs are of a mixture of types realized in steel and concrete. All the external, public and representational areas of the Cantina Vinicola Podernuovo have natural stone floors while the floors in the areas dedicated to the work processes are in klinker and are easy to clean and maintain. The aspects of the project linked to the environmental sustainability are particularly interesting. This wine making facility will in fact take advantage of the abundant renewal energy sources present in the rural context to preserve the environment and to achieve a substantial economic savings. The cantina will use a small geo-thermal, heat pump energy generator which is able to use the constant temperature of the terrain as a natural and sustainable energy source to get heat during the winter months and cooling during the summer months with zero emissions and a great cost benefit. The further use of wall insulation ‘packages’ to accompany the shape of the building, itself – which is partially underground – closely follows the shape of the terrain which will increase the inertia of the structure and provide further energy savings. Client: Podernuovo S.r.l. Società Agricola owned by Paolo and Giovanni Bulgari Intervention: the realization of a wine cantina for the production, preservation and bottling of wines Location: San Casciano dei Bagni (SI) Architectural project and direction of work: Alvisi Kirimoto + Partners (Massimo Alvisi, Alessandra Spiezia, Enrico Pisani, Leonardo Lorusso, Mercedes Munoz Arrocha, Sara Piccialli) Consultants: Structure:Engineer.Domenico Sterpa Plants: Cautha S.r.l. Environmental plans and administrative practices: Toscana Project S.r.l. Date: Project of 2007-2009 Realization 2009-2011 Dimensions: 1434.81 Square Meters