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| Photo credit: Bruce Damonte |
Known for its Pinot Noirs, Williams Selyem winery in Healdsburg, Calif., is the first from-the-ground-up new winery to be built in Sonoma County in nearly a decade. The design process for the renowned winery was complex and demanding. To capture the essence of Williams Selyem’s iconic status within the industry and its place in Sonoma’s cultural evolution, the design had to recognize the winery’s natural and minimalist philosophy while demonstrating Sonoma’s evolving modernization process.
Venezuelan architect Alex Ceppi of D.arc Group, New York, was the lead designer, while Patrick Mervin Associates, Calistoga, Calif., was the architect of record. The biggest challenge they faced was the placement of a large footprint project on a steeped hill between a cliff and 200-year-old California Oaks. Ceppi notes that the very tight conditions forced them to think about the site and its landscape as intrinsic elements or variables in the design. “It was clear from the beginning that the most critical part of the experience of this building would be the celebration of the site-ultimately, that is what the wine is all about,” Ceppi explains. “Williams Selyem is of its place and time … and so would the building.”
The project’s most public building, the administration building, uses iconic elements of winemaking as a generator of form and meaning. Ceppi notes that it was conceived as a modern, deconstructed barn. “We took a building type already rooted in the county’s architectural tradition/psyche, pulled it apart and reassembled it in a way that it would best serve its new program. The cantilevered and deconstructed barrel-vault structure, along with the angled glass barrel façade, are significant features-not only because they refer back to the elements of wine making and to local building archetypes but because they symbolize technological and architectural progress as well.”
A cantilevering wood and barrel-vaulted structure covered in metal panels from Woburn, Mass.-based RHEINZINK America Inc. caps the building. MetalTech-USA, Peachtree City, Ga., fabricated approximately 7,700 square feet of RHEINZINK stepped panels to create the barrel-vaulted roof. RHEINZINK was also used for the fascia soffit and gutter trim. The building sides utilize local redwood and masonry-clad programmatic volumes. Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope, Santa Monica, Calif., supplied the curtainwall system, while Viracon, Owatonna, Minn., supplied the glass.
The facility is made up of the 40,000-square-foot administration building, production building and tasting pavilion. The administration and production facilities were completed in fall 2010, and phase II, the Tasting Pavilion, should be completed in the near future. According to Ceppi, it will also use metal and glass extensively.
Williams Selyem Winery Headquarters, Healdsburg, Calif.
Award: 2011 AIA Honors Award for Design Excellence from AIA Westchester Hudson Valley
Owner: John Dyson
Design architect: D.arc Group, New York
Architect of record: Patrick Mervin Associates, Calistoga, Calif.
General contractor: Jim Murphy & Associates, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Fabricator: MetalTech-USA, Peachtree City, Ga.
Installer: Architectural Metal Inc., Hopland, Calif.
Curtainwall: Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope, Santa Monica, Calif., www.oldcastlebe.com
Glass: Viracon, Owatonna, Minn., www.viracon.com
Metal roof panels: RHEINZINK America Inc., Woburn, Mass., www.rheinzink.us