The site location for the main building was chosen with the idea of creating a design that would follow the existing contours of the mountain and minimize its footprint on the property. We were able to create this with the construction of a shotcrete retaining wall, this allowed us to eliminate any footing required to control the cut on the slope. This shotcrete wall was located on the precise location where the amount of cut and fill for the building footprint was identical and balanced to avoid the removal of spoils from the site. The size and shape of the wall was dictated by the location of the cut, this will keep the use of concrete to a minimum without disturbing the trees and vegetation above the cut. The location was also free of any major trees and important vegetation. The idea behind the caves is to provide the project with an additional 15,000 SQFT of storage space for the winery without the necessity of having another building on the property. This type of storage underground provides a high humidity and perfect temperature environment for the wine barrels, without the need for an artificial climate control system. We located the Administration Building and offices on top of an outcrop of rocks where there was no need to remove or affect any existing vegetation. The entry access to all these buildings from the main public road was kept over an existing driveway inside the property; the design did not require the addition of any new paved roads for this project.

Two different Bendheim channel glass textures are set in our SF-60 frame system in seperate buildings of a winery. Single glazed  504 Rough Cast, low-iron channel glass in the Vat room provides protection from the elements. Double-glazed Solar channel glass walls, windows and transoms around the building provide natural light for a well-lit working environment.  The channel glass systems played an essential role in the building’s LEED Gold certification.