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Architects: Fender Katsalidis Architects
- Area: 3804 m²
- Year: 2021
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Photographs:Willem Dirk Du Toit, Image Play
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Manufacturers: Reynaers Aluminium, Dulux, Lovelight, Lysaght, Signorino, Viridian
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Lead Architect: Karl Fender
Text description provided by the architects. A showcase of the Levantine Hill brand, in concert with the neighbouring cellar door and restaurant, the Levantine Hill Estate winery building provides a complete wine experience across the vineyard, events, tasting and presentation spaces. Paying homage to the winemaking process, the design of the state-of-the-art facility and fully-fledged function space has been inspired by the serene backdrop of foothills and agricultural land associated with grape growing and wine.
Levantine Hill Estate Winery serves as a point of attraction for both wine and design lovers alike. The winery adds to the rich character of Yarra Valley, drawing visitors in as a destination they can experience and engage with, raising the bar even higher for hospitality in the region.
The surrounding bucolic countryside serves as inspiration for a design that celebrates wine’s connection to the land. By visually integrating the building with the rolling landscape and using materials synonymous with regional structures, the aim was to achieve a design in harmony with the natural and agricultural surroundings.
The winery’s rolled arched structure has been sheeted with galvanised steel purlins and corrugated iron cladding to reflect this cultivated setting. The curvature of the building’s black steel framework resembling a pristine barrel vault captures views of the vineyard and is in concert with the neighbouring cellar door.
The 250-tonne-per-year winemaking facility with basement wine cellar seamlessly combines a major reception hall within its barrel vault structure. As the design process advanced, the brief evolved to include a barrel vault pavilion extension adding to the flexibility of the overall space.
Inspired by agricultural buildings, appropriate materials were selected for longevity and appearance and included natural raw materials used in combination with steel, concrete and polished stone. The encompassing vision behind the winery elevates the estate and region as a world-class producer of fine wines – and architecture.
