Page 147 - Exploring Taste Magazine N.2

HERITAGE—A WINEMAKING FORTRESS

The renovation and expansion of Cantina Santa Margherita Gruppo Vinicolo in
Fossalta di Portogruaro, designed by the Westway Architects f rm, is an impressive and
detailed project, which, like the vines and the wine, required the right timing and for-
ward-looking vision. Launched in 2012 with the aim of renovating, reorganizing and
connecting many of the buildings, over time the project has created an urban micro-
cosm, bringing together the historical red entrance building, the porphyry square, the
trees, the large and small roads, the slopes of old and new roofs. In the future, with the
completion of the new bottling line, it will form a f nished space. It is a small fortress,
beautiful by day and illuminated by night, where century-old traditions co-exist with
innovative technologies in a harmonious and transparent composition.

A Winemaking Fortress he renovation of the Santa Margherita winery in Villanova, locat-

ed in the municipality of Fossalta di Portogruaro, sprung from the
same primary physical elements that determine the life cycle of the
Words VIRGINIO BRIATORE
T vines: rain, wind, dust, sun, silence and the seasons. Works grad-
ually continued, complying with structural, organizational and productive needs
and, in six years of constant evolution, redesigned the body and face of the build-
ing complex, which, as explained by architect Luca Aureggi, is a small manual
of architectural history. “Starting from the 40s, as the winery slowly expanded,
new architectural elements were added, with dif erent volumes and construction
techniques, each representing their respective decade. Loading and unloading
requirements became increasingly complex, as well as the need for ef ciency, hy-
giene and comfort, so the owners decided to build a covered loading bay to pro-
tect people and commodities from the weather. So the f rst part of our project was
a large canopy connecting the buildings along a single facade over 200 meters
long, creating a practical and spacious covered area.”
After the canopy, the project immediately spread to redesigning the old buildings,
proposing new facades with a fresh design and improved energetic and function-
al performance. Today this type of redevelopment is called recladding, and refers
to the technical and higher-performing new look. The project by Westway Archi-
tects was not limited to the surface, and united elegance, lightness and solidity to
successfully give the old traditional spaces a more modern feel. And, above all, it
achieved an even more ambitious goal. “In this project the client not only wanted to
create a new exterior visible from the street for aesthetic reasons, but also wanted to
redesign the workplace in a more accessible and functional manner,” said architect
Maurizio Condoluci. “So our job also extended to the redef nition of the interior
spaces, to redesign and reconstruct its identity. Our work in this regard was greatly
Foto MORENO MAGGI appreciated by the people who use the place every day, and reinforced a shared sense
Architettura WESTWAY ARCHITECTS of identity between the employees, their place of work and the business.”

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