Architecture
An Architectural Bumper Crop in Spanish Wine Country
Where wine and design converge, tradition gets the Picasso treatment.
Pablo would approve. His homeland has become one of the worlds leading laboratories for two seemingly unrelated creative pursuits: architecture and winemaking. A few years ago, major projects by top-tier architects started popping up in northern Spains hotbed of viticultural innovation, La Rioja. Then the ears of architecture aficionados everywhere perked up and so did the pace of construction. But like most great growing areas, its also a place where tradition infuses everything, which makes it an odd spot for a high-stakes game of modern architecture one-upmanship. And yet thats just what happened; vintners competed to commission bodegas by todays brightest starchitects. The results are now as good a reason to visit La Rioja as the wine.
Located in northern Spain, about three hours from Barcelona, the Rioja countryside is dotted with Romaneque churches, reminding visitors that its not just the wine thats steeped in tradition. It takes daring to build something like Frank Gehrys eye-popping Hotel Marqus de Riscal. Clad in pink, silver and gold rumpled titanium and steel panels that evoke the foil at the top of a wine bottle, the 43-suite hotel overlooking the small medieval town of Elciego is part of a historic winery. Featuring a cooking school, a Caudalie Vinothrapie Spa and a Michelin-starred restaurant, it was one of the first luxury properties in the area.
Down the road in Laguardia, about 10 minutes by car, another exciting contemporary landmark is the Bodegas Ysios. Designed by Valencia-born architect Santiago Calatrava, this long, low structure, with its undulating pleated aluminum roof, seems to nestle right into the Sierra de Cantabria mountain range. Its less jarring than Gehrys hotel, perhaps because its lines are simpler and cleaner. Another standout in the clean, modern lines department is French architect Philippe Mazires Bodega Via Real, near Logroo. Made out of concrete, stainless steel and Canadian red cedar and built into the side of a mountain, this state-of-the-art winery resembles a massive oak vat. The concept is rugged simplicity taken to the extreme, but somehow it manages to take on an unexpected elegance.
Further north, in the town of Samaniego, is another unique property. Basque native Iaki Aspiazu Iza has created a form that looks like it was sculpted by the same natural forces that shaped the surrounding hills. Bodegas Baigorri was built almost entirely underground in order to maximize the use of gravity in the elaboration process. Its only prominent above-ground feature is a temple-like glass-encased reception space that presides over acres of vines. Even one of the most traditional wineries, R. Lpez de Heredia Via Tondonia, has been getting in on the action by hiring Zaha Hadid to create its tasting room. Her clever matte gold and stainless steel space looks like a decanter from Sharper Image.
Each of these bold and ambitious structures expresses a different idea of how modern architecture should coexist with medieval castles and monasteries. Some have worked better than others, but as a whole, the architectural arms race has succeeded in bringing the attention of the worlds design aficionados to northern Spain. And all the while, La Riojas historic charm remains defiantly intact.
(Karen Ashbee is a Calgary-based fashion and lifestyle writer.)
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