Obelisk Winery by AiD team & Hana Bainarová; Czech Republic

The Obelisk Winery was built on the green horizon with a unique view of Valtice and Pálava Hills in place of a former border guard platoon post. Protection of the national borders has been replaced by vineyard tending and landscape maintenance.

The design of the winery draws on the same traditions and sources of inspiration as the Romantic buildings of the Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape. In our case, it was inspired by a Classical temple transformed into an abstract form of a slab supported by three rows of columns – this pavilion erected on a solid base gently complements the green horizon with vineyards.

The building is divided into two zones – the underground wine production facilities and the above-ground representative premises which include a wine shop, a hall and a wine tasting room.

The production process is based on the gravity-flow winemaking which is the reason the facilities are placed on two underground levels dominated by a tank hall surrounded by storage cellars. The wines are complex, mineral, distinctive and, first and foremost, reflect the terroir of the vineyards they come from. The best batches mature in wooden casks which give the wines a rich and complex character.

The representative part of the building with the wine tasting room and a lounge aims to be an architectural expression of the winery’s philosophy and ideals. We see it as a pavilion or a boudoir – a space of a specific character and atmosphere. Unlike the nearby Valtice Castle, the walls do not hold any hunting trophies; however, there are other trophies on display here – the trophies of the Obelisk’s winemaking craft. The contemporary work of art in the form of a wall and ceiling intarsia was inspired by Baroque and Renaissance castle ceilings and reflects the influences of the surrounding vineyards and the owner’s game preserve – Obelisk.

The corten pavilion with large-scale glazing is encircled by an open gallery. The building of the winery is both visually and mentally connected to Valtice, the Reistna Colonnade, and the panoramic view of the Pálava Hills with the veduta of Mikulov.

The natural materials of stone, concrete and oak wood are combined with glass, steel, and corten. These traditional materials were chosen both for technical reasons and for their other special properties. Concrete, stone, and corten all age naturally in the exterior and gradually blend in with the landscape around.

The winery is surrounded by the large cultural landscape formed between the 17th and the 20th century on the Lichtenstein estate the unique character of which we wanted to preserve and promote. This is also the reason most of the winery is hidden underground. The above-ground part is slightly protruding over the vineyards when observed from the direction of Valtice. Most of the grown trees on the winery grounds were preserved and the access road will be flanked with newly planted vineyards. The dispersal area in front of the entrance took the form of a green courtyard – a piazetta – fitted with seating mobiliary and awaiting its own work of art.

The chief principle we observed when designing the winery was respect for the entire Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape, the vineyards, the work of those who are no longer among us but whose craft and skills we admire to this day. We aim to preserve and develop this quality and tradition.

Text provided by the authors of the project.