Completion year: 2020 Gross built area: 650 m2 Project location: Ugarteche, Mendoza, Argentina Program / Use: Industrial architecture - Winery - Photo credits: Luis Abba

Located in southern Agrelo, in the Ugarteche area on the way up to Tupungato, Iral Winery is set on a site of unusual proportions: extremely narrow and deep. This elongated condition becomes the project’s point of departure. The intervention embraces this linearity as both an organizational structure and a formal identity, developing an architecture that follows the depth of the land and allows for phased growth. The commission, initiated by a group of young winemakers with experience in different wineries and the ambition to establish their own project, called for a distinctly industrial character. From the outset, the proposal adopted a simple and efficient construction logic, capable of being built progressively without losing coherence. The central operation consists of a long concrete wall that structures the entire complex. This strong linear element organizes the program, defines the façade, and frames the silhouette of the winery against the vineyards and the Andes mountain range. At the same time, the wall embraces the pre-existing farmhouse—a traditional brick structure—integrating it into the overall composition without giving it prominence, but rather incorporating it discreetly into a new formal unity. The maneuvering yard and industrial hall are arranged in continuity with this structural line, followed by a sequence of production spaces including the cellar and, on the upper level, offices and administrative areas. The construction system combines a load-bearing exposed concrete wall, cast with phenolic formwork to achieve a precise and uniform texture, with metal structures and insulated panels that ensure efficient execution while reinforcing the building’s sober and contemporary character. The project also incorporates a tourism area conceived as an experience independent from the production process. Access occurs diagonally, like a fissure cutting through the linear composition and leading to a courtyard designed for events. This space mediates between the winery and an upper terrace intended for social use. A bridge connects the terrace to the tasting room located above the cellar, allowing visitors to observe the production process from above without interfering with daily operations. In this way, the tourist circulation visually overlaps the industrial activity without disrupting it. The project ultimately relies on a clear and straightforward structural strategy that articulates production and tourism, incorporates the existing house, and allows for future expansion without compromising its overall coherence.