CASARENA WINERY
Completion year: 2020 Gross built area: 700 m2 Project location: Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina Program / Use: Comercial architecture - Winery - Photo credits: Luis Abba
After the fire that reduced the renowned restaurant at Bodega Casarena to ruins, the studio was commissioned to design and build a new gastronomic space. Located atop the same ruins, the project arises as a symbolic gesture of reconstruction and rebirth—a sign of resilience in the face of loss. The commission responds to the functional needs of a winery restaurant designed for social, corporate, and recreational events, but it also seeks to embody a new beginning. The building is situated behind the original winery hall, a century-old adobe construction with wooden and metal roofs that still retains its activity and character. The new intervention engages in a dialogue with this historic volume through a sober and serene architecture that accompanies without competing, yet asserts itself with a distinct, elegant, and present identity. The only surviving trace of the fire, a square, elevated concrete slab, became the starting point for the new volume. From there, a pure prism is projected, occupying the entire footprint of the former restaurant and its extensions, carefully aligned with the winery’s façade. Above this prism, an organizing grid structures the interior space, allowing for strategic subtractions that create patios, natural light entrances, and cross ventilation. Each of these patios corresponds to a vineyard plot in production, establishing a direct and tangible connection with the surrounding agricultural landscape. The interior is conceived as an intimate journey, articulated by large rammed earth walls that generate spaces for retreat, corners for conversation and pause. These walls, crafted by hand using earth extracted from the very same estate, evoke traditional Mendoza construction techniques and establish a material and cultural link with the existing adobe walls. The employed technique, rammed earth, is one of the oldest methods of building with soil. In this case, it was structurally reinforced to comply with seismic regulations, combining tradition and technology. Different granulometries allowed for visible strata, giving the walls a natural and authentic expressiveness. The use of noble and low-impact materials—such as local earth, wood, iron, and glass—reinforces the project’s sustainable approach, prioritizing local resources and passive comfort systems. This system not only carries a strong symbolic and cultural charge but also offers exceptional thermal, acoustic, and fire-resistant qualities. Simple, noble, and expressive materials define the atmosphere of the restaurant. An austere elegance envelops the space, while the landscape, sunlight, breezes, and aromas of the vineyard complete the experience. Through its architecture, the new Bodega Casarena restaurant celebrates local identity and proposes a profound sensory experience, rooted in the memory of the place but projected toward the future.
























