Yukchipang

VINICULTURE AND THE CITY AN URBAN WINERY BY: YUK CHI PANG ARCHDES 700- SEMESTER ONE 2014 SUPERVISORS: CHRIS BARTON, RAPHAELA ROSE, LUDO CAMPBELL- REID, PIP CHESHIRE AND NAT CHESHIRE

ABSTRACT: When New Zealanders envision the winery, flurries of recollected images come to mind. The picturesque rolling plains of fresh grapevines, the private reservoirs of aged- timber barrels, the cellars of local and exotic wine varieties, the pure solace of the bucolic atmosphere and the intimate dialogues between the winemaker and the visitor through wine consumption. However, when we consume wine in everyday life, we tend to compliment the beverage with the finest foods at the finest restaurants. These restaurants are located in the midst of the thriving urban scene, antonymous with the imagery and experience of the detached winery.

In addition to this, Auckland City Council intends to develop a $2.86 billion City Rail Link, to promote connectivity between Auckland’s current amenities such as Britomart precinct, Wynard Quarter and the Viaduct. The City Rail Link will comprise of two 100-metre tunnels that will link from the current Britomart Train stop, and distributes passengers towards the Mt. Eden Train Line.

Because of these factors, the design intention is twofold. With the city’s high desire for quality wine, are there logical opportunities to incorporate the profound experiences and the intimate gestures of the winery, into the urban proximity? Whilst also expanding the public transport system to connect more people into the City of Auckland?

THE SITE: My notes taken from March 8- 12 at 11- 19 Customs Street, Auckland City. This was a genuinely pivotal and intriguing space within the confines of Auckland’s Central Business District. Complex sequences alter the subjectivity and question the true identity of the space.

I came out of the space, itching to incorporate the recollected images from the site, into a piece of architecture, with a plate of fragrant pasta, pinot noir, a notebook and a fresh rotring.

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Site Aura: adjoins to four skyscrapers horde the given site. (HSBC House, Zurich House, PwC Tower and AMP Centre.) These

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Intensity: Varies throughout specific moments in time. Throughout the day, space is particularly mundane yet the pedestrians

towers neglect the site by stripping day lighting and allowing the space to be prone to heavy breeze. provide an unmatched vitality. During the night, space is characteristically barren, unless the nightlife becomes activated. With the activation, space becomes a vivacious central rendezvous for the masses.

• Population: A diverse and expansive series of spaces allow the people to invariably define through fixed times. Primarily, workaday people cross the site in order to satisfy their personal repertoire, usually without hesitation or pause. With the hordes of characters , the spaces sustains an immediate poise, without being overwhelming.

Regionality: A myriad of buildings with a focus on defining youthfulness. Heritage buildings have taken a more background • role, with newer buildings boldly disconnecting with the old whilst others beginning to hybrid and retrofit the old. A dense and robust formal lexicon within the terroir

• Attractions: Site offers a focal point for impromptu performers and vendors. Crowds form and variegate the space, filling it with life and stalling time. Stores vary between high end clothing and fine dining throughout the precinct. These places have facades replicating the past, with a youthful abundance internally. One must vividly enter each space to appreciate the ways transition is communicated • Connectivity: Invariable links to buses, trains, taxi and ferry services. The fleets of ground level transport instantaneously pollutes the colour, sights and smell of the space whereas subterranean alternatives conceal and hides this pollution. The armada of naval transport provides grace and delicacy in an otherwise uncompromising environment • Proximity: Despite the clutter of vehicles and buildings, there is potential to utilise the Waitemata harbour view and newer attractions (Silo Park, Vector Arena, Takutai Square, Britomart Precinct). The smell of fine dining lingers throughout the Britomart space, noticeably fresh cuisine (noticeably seafood and crusted fries) and stewing coffee. These smells then intertwine with the staleness and potentially toxic whiffs of transport. Apertures to the picturesque sea are created through the inter-junction of people, vehicles, streets and buildings. A full on walking experience throughout the space reveals an abundance of profound senses and allows for enigmatic voyages in space and time.

To truly enjoy fine dining within Auckland, I tend to compliment this with colleagues and of course, quality wine. I mean, as I speak, I am equipped with my second glass of pinot noir, a notebook, a fresh rotring and a semi-full appetite (I still have the menu on the table just in case.)

David Adjaye proclaims that the city must not be viewed as an “impersonal system.� But rather an ever-changing phenomenon that constantly evolve and we as architects must understand the evolutions. Although the winery is itself a sophisticated architectural statement, it must evolve within the parameters of the city. The overarching question is how can this winery appeal to the urban context? How can we make this building respond to worldwide connoisseurs, but to the wider and local demographic?

Wines are very mystical in that it has an abstruse relationship with place. From the private restaurant cellar to the chateau it is conceived in, wine has a sequence of displacement embedded with each whiff, swish and sip. Each type has its own complexities not only of the production, but of the taste. The congnition of the aroma, the colours, the textures, the immediate taste and the lingering after tastes are all part of the journey of wine. These complexities are comparable to architecture as they all have their own personal and unique journeys. With the site as a point of departure, would a building that facilitates these stories be conceivable? The possibilities for a tantalising wine experience that stimulates the wine connoisseurs to the wine novice, Encased within a bold yet gestural statement of viniculture? A winery that transcends the esoteric culture of wine? The manifestation of a rich architectural palate, capable of enabling a dialogue between the consumer and the city.

The tension between the promise of the future and the capabilities of the present is ubiquitous with architectural design. The urban chateau can accommodate to the city’s need for wine exportation. Through self-production and growth, over time, the winery can distil and export the diverse Auckland region wines to many fine establishments. An centralised urban farm within the confines of a city can provide a lush, full bodied space, that provides a point of clarity in the burgeoning city. With current architecture delineating into the possibilities of urban sustainability, an integration will provide a deeper relationship with the ideas of a future city. A space that continually serves the city in a environmental and human scale.

The winery will act as an urban stimulus to the people of Auckland, however it must evolve from the pure mental images and its detachment from the city. When Jung explains the role of the artist, he should portray the spirit of his age through conscious and unconscious decisions. He creates form to the environment that is true to the ethos of his time, which in turn, creates the reputation of the artist. I believe this ideal transcends into architecture. The exploration between stories of architecture and the journeys of wine can vine and reveal our current senses of time and place through an architectural statement.

Ultimately, an urban winery that appeals to the Britomart pedestrian and simultaneously enhances the image of Auckland City. The urban winery must be a sequence of spaces which radiates passion, without artifice. This is definitely an ambitious phenomena that has the potential to germintate Auckland into a proposed “Super City.�

THE AUCKLAND WINE SCENE

History: Auckland’s wine industry is one of New Zealand’s oldest established industries, beginning in the early 1900s. Settlers from England, Lebanon and Croatia provided the foundation for the current wine industry. Founding families such as Babich, Nobilo and Brajkovic are still in operation and joined by award winning wines such as Destiny Bay, Man O’ War Wines and Matakana Estate wines. The modern collective of Auckland winemakers are compact within the New Zealand market, however the quality has not been compromised, as Auckland wineries still maintain rigorous wine making procedures, which has been engrained into the fabric of the vintners.

Subsequently, they have received multiple accolades from New Zealand and worldwide, especially with their complex Chardonnays and rich Cabernet Sauvignon.

Locale: The wine businesses are generally distributed in three zones within the greater Auckland region. These zones are Matakana, West Auckland and Waiheke Island. These wine processing zones are located away from the city centre, and into more fertile landscapes.

West Auckland (30- 40 Kilometres North West from Auckland CBD):

Waiheke Island (20 Kilometres East from Auckland CBD):

Viticulture Environment: Humid weather. Winemakers fight through this adversity and create award winning produce • The signature wine variants that are exported are Chardonnay and Merlot • Common characteristics include bold fruitiness, striking a balance with softer textures.

• Signature wineries of this region are Kumeu River Hunting Hill Wines and Nobilo Wines

• Viticulture Environment: Warm and dry. This promotes intense grapes with depth and full-bodied fruit flavour. Scenic location provides a fashionable spot for Aucklanders and tourists.

• The wine that is exported is predominantly Bordeaux , Syrah, Chardonnay types • Common characteristics include an exotic fruitiness, with a controlled, and at times restrained textures.

The closeness to the ocean potentially gives the fruit, a unequivocal freshness and wildness • Signature wineries of this region are Goldwater Estate, Destiny Bay Vineyards, Obsidian Vineyards and Man O’ War Vineyards.

Matakana (60 Kilometres North from Auckland CBD): •

Viticulture Environment: Rolling Hills with humid and balmy temperatures. The picturesque isolation attracts tourists, especially with the renowned Matakana wine festivals • The signature wines of this region are mainly red wines such as Bordeaux, Syrah and Pinot Noir wines.

• Common characteristics include complex fruitiness due to the fertile and relatively untouched soils of North Auckland • Signature wineries of this region are Mahurangi River Wines, Brick Bay Wines and Matakana Estate

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THE DIALOGUE BETWEEN WINE AND ARCHITECTURE: THE SPATIAL PROGRAMME THE WINERY: “Vivid light disperses throughout the entirety of chateau through a series of meticulous apertures.The never ending wave of silver emulates a contemporary monastery, with wine production as the sole spiritual and physical inhibitor.”

The multiple rooms in the winery provide a spatial journey that compliment and define the various processes of wine production. A well-considered sequence of buildings and spaces, that can reduce time and money. A large space that caters to the intricacies of topography, site size, site flexibility, fuctionality, technological targets as well as the celebration of the architect’s stylistic language

THE HARVEST: “Alas! The harvest is here! Vehicles enter from land, air and sea to herald the new harvest. Dainty violet particles swarmed out with the intensity of greyhounds. The conveyor belts are filled by fresh grapes from the seasonal harvest. The workers are holding back from trying to sneak a few grapes to eat.�

A general requirement to provide a large amount of outdoor land for grapes to develop. Also must allow ease of accessibility for workers to pick, prune and distribute to fermenting cellar. Has a distinctive landscape quality in which is dependent on outside conditions such as temperature, soil, vegetation. Provision for machinery is also beneficial e.g. tractors, irrigation The harvest then leads to an amphitheatre. An exposed atmosphere as it provides a rendezvous for communication between the winemaker and the workers. Additionally, it creates a threshold between the outdoor aspects (grape picking, pruning) of wine production and the indoor aspects (fermentation, maceration) of wine production.

A general requirement to provide a large amount of outdoor land for grapes to develop. The environment must allow ease of accessibility for workers to pick, prune and distribute to fermenting cellar. The amphitheatre has a distinctive landscape quality in which is dependent on environmental conditions such as temperature, soil, vegetation. Provision for machinery is also a necessity e.g. tractors, irrigation

THE FERMENTING CELLAR: “Space was attractively ethereal with a delicate length despite the clunky maceration devices. Physically exciting mezzanine, heralded with vintage oak maceration presses summoned the nostalgic chateaus of Bordeaux. Pulverized grapes become deep and viscous. It is becoming more and more of a syrup than a juice through rigorous stirring. A floating stainless steel mezzanine, with a blackened timber cladding, that defies the laws of gravity. Here, the grape pressing, pumpdown, chaptalizaion and must removal occurs Within the mezzanine, the space feels noticeably “clopen.” The black timber slats simultaneously filter and accept light.”

Provide sufficient space for multiple tasks. Usually it has multi-purpose capabilities as grape sorting, grape pulverization, maceration, pomace removal and fermentation occurs. When not occupied, it may be used for bottling and storage for equipment. This is the main production atmosphere, so circulation (people and mechanised) is also important.

THE TANK STORAGE: “Viscous burgundy syrup was filtered through into the fermentation instrument. Intense curiosity embraced my conscience over the happenings within the container.

Deep instruments displays the essence of coldness within the reflective qualities of the steel. Despite the frigidity of the steel, the opulent aromas teases unctuous florality throughout the passage thus, enticing a life within the wine. The rows of fermentation tanks refract the glory of the Auckland light within the chateau, resulting in a crisp and alluring atmosphere.”

A space that holds various containers. These containers will vary depending on size and materiality. In addition, space required needs to hold pressure vessels for production processes (must preparation, fermentation, and juice storage). This space needs to be effective in function as well as exposing the winery’s customer-friendly image.

THE CELLAR: “A distinctly toasty atmosphere stricken within the building. The complexity of the soft timber fractals emulates a lucid gesture rather than a grand statement; a delicate throne with frozen passion.Ethereal white coated bricks provides a pure and neutral expression of the traditional solid terracotta brick. The corridor and views out towards the harbour was magical, especially during the late night. The illustrious Waitemata Harbour was lit with speckles from Takapuna and the armada of vessels. Time stood still, as the minimal sounds of sipping and conversation were dominant against the backdrop of the (late) working city.�

Underground cellars are the traditional space for the storage of barrels and private collections. The cellar is the dominant architectural statement of the winery, in which the space produces the strongest impression on the visitor.

Regardless of the visual qualities of this space, the cellar must perform in fixed conditions. It has to be a dry, cool (10-12 degrees Celsius) and odour free environment. The balance of humidity is also integral to the space. The humidity has to be lower in bottle cellars, but has to be higher than that in tank storage spaces. Additionally, the easement of transportation is crucial. Especially with barrel transportation internally and externally.

Overall, the wine cellar must strike a balance between aesthetic and practical functions, not just with itself, but with the relationships with the other spaces.

THE BARRIQUE STORAGE: Barriques are displayed over a neutral white background. The barrels stand out, similar to an art installation at a boutique gallery .Colourful refractions from the barrels were like clear honey reflected on a lazy summer morning. Collective barriques evoked a hearty personality within the milky soutirage.

The wooden barrel storage requires the largest spatial within the chateau as it needs to satisfy the enormous quantity of barriques. This space also has to be effective to the idiom of the winery, as it requires the heavy manual labour methods of transferral and storage. The composition of barriques can be altered to save space. To do this, barriques can be stacked, but will need to be spacious for navigation between these barrels because barriques will need to be constantly maintained. The segregation between the wooden barrel storage and the tanks is vital. Barrels require a space of 85% relative humidity as this will prevent noticeable reductions of content.

THE TASTING ROOMS: “The floating stairwell looped upwards towards a calm, softened throne. Multiplicity of wines embedded into staircase felt as though the wine library was the structure and fabric of the building. An almost honest integration of structure and integrity.�

Another important architectural statement that should be the pride of the winery. A warm room that relays the sensory elements, the bouquets of the winery. A requirement for discretion and intimacy. as wine is served, a platter of cheeses and bread should ideally compliment the wine tasting.

THE BOTTLING WAREHOUSE: “Diverse tones of red and purple inhabit the streets of filtration. Their confined flowing and ebbing provides life in an otherwise silent room.

Seas of crystal green oscillate and voyage into a wooden clad reservoir. Once packaged into crates, wines are then distributed to restaurants, bars and direct to consumer via straight purchase and auctions.�

Has to store enough bottles from at least two harvests. Usually connected on the same level as work facilities and tasting areas. Additionally needs to accommodate bottling machines.

THE BAR AND RESTAURANT: “The steakhouse restaurant gazes towards the harbour, overlooking the vessels docking into Auckland city. The interior of the restaurant is a direct architectural play on the idea of chiaroscuro. Pearly interior, with darkened seats immediately catches the eye.The restaurant tables are of rectangular shape and made from a classic darkened oak. One immediately delves into nostalgia, and the large dining platform sets the tone of those days. The aroma of prime porterhouse steak, accompanied with the freshest herbs and spices. The earthy fragrances linger throughout the establishment. Steak is grilled perfectly, with the prime pigment of carnation. The deep pinot noir arrives. Vivid ruby, with floral and hints of exoticism. A wild, but not overbearing. Good line of acidity to subtley defean the steak, and the length is plump, without heavy alcohol overtones.”

Advertises the winery’s image and marketability through extravagance in fine craft and atmosphere. Through personal experience, restaurants with speciality in red meats and pinot noir wines are synonymous as the sharp, acetic wine immerses with savoury palate of the steak, indulging into a specific taste that fulfills the visceral senses with extravagance. Plates of exotic cheeses, cured sausages and oven-crusted foccacia as well as a refill of the pinot noir allows a relaxing atmosphere after the indulgence of the hearty steak, to signify the conclusion of the working week. The Williamsburg inspired interior creates a distinctive intimacy with the bartender, waiter, your colleagues and most importantly, your chosen wine.