Lahofer Winery
by Chybik + Kristof

Bringing together a longstanding wine tradition and contemporary wine-making processes, the Lahofer Winery houses a visitor center, tasting room and rooftop amphitheater alongside its production facilities.

Designed by Chybik + Kristof, it is immersed in the landscape through a subtle symbiosis with the surrounding vines, and the design invites visitors to experience and engage with Moravian culture.

“The design of the Lahofer Winery is deeply rooted in nature, and in the respect thereof. (...) The structure unfolds into the native terrain, immerses itself into the surrounding vine rows, thereby preserving the essence and integrity of both soil and culture.” Ondřej Chybík and Michal Krištof recount

Emulating archetypal wine cellars of the region, the vaulted structure rests on a grid of arched beams housing three distinct interconnected structures.

The production facility lies beside the visitor center and tasting room. Acting as a mirror of its shape, the notable undulant roof serves as an amphitheater for cultural events open to the public.

Merging the winery into the ground –and the culture – on which it rests.

Each reinforced concrete arch is individually designed to fit a specific angle of the ceiling, while the distance between the arches is determined by that between the vine rows.

Each module rises from a vine row and runs through the space, achieving perfect visual symmetry and guiding the viewer’s gaze across the grapevines.

Enclosed in a glass façade and facing south, the visitor center draws abundant light as the windows act as concealed separation from the exterior vine rows.

large-scale mural painting by Czech contemporary artist Patrik Hábl covers the entire ceiling area.

Its tampered, irregular and sparse strokes, ranging from earthy reds and blacks to terroir-reminiscent browns and beiges, echo the variations of the soil and its weightlessness as it seemingly lifts from the ground, leaving its timeless markings on the walls.

The first lower hall centralises the operations, while the second allows for operations that require lower temperatures. The varying heights of the interior spaces, emulating the terrain, allow for the alignment of corresponding functional exterior courtyards.

Such as the wine press, the cellar, and the wine store.

While one courtyard serves as the operational area, centralising logistic and production presses, the other holds the amphitheater, extending sweeping views of the landscape.

An open space emerging from the rhythmic vines, the amphitheater invests the boundless roof, overlooking a horizon nourished by its history. 

Expanding on the Lahofer Winery’s function from a production site into a witness to the local culture, it acts as a community space, dedicated to cultural events –a hub for its lasting community to connect with visitors of the region and wide-ranging wine connoisseurs.

Authors Chybik+Kristof
Team Ondrej Chybik, Michal Kristof, Adam Jung, Lenka
Vorechovska, Hanin Al-Gibury, Karolina
Holankova,
Martin Holy, Vojtech Kouril, Ondrej Mundl, Matej Strba,
Zuzana Zathurecka, Zuzana
Pelikanova, Victor Cojocaru,
Laura Emilija Druktenytė, Zuzana Lisonova, Gabriela Volakova

Client Lahofer Winery
Location Dobšice, Czech Republic
Year 2015-2020
Surface 3 900 sqm
Photography Laurian Ghinitoiu (6, 9) and Alex Shoot Buildings (1-5, 7-8, 10), courtesy of Chybik+Kristof

Offices for a management consulting multinational company in Piazza del Duomo Artisanal Bakery Grid LANZA Atelier Home Office in Milan Davidson Rafailidis Architecture BRIO Studio GROSS

a project powered by Itinerant Office

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