Buro Ole Scheeren is an international architecture practice headed by German architect ole Scheeren, with offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Bangkok, New York, London, and Berlin. The projects designed by the firm strive to shape and reform the way humanity interacts with its surroundings and generate new social narratives through a bold vision in the field of architecture. The firm recently designed a new campus and experience center in the historical city of Yibin, China, a city known for its rich cultural heritage and the geographical relevance of the Yangtze River.
“This is a story about the culture and appreciation of wine… and a story about nature and its inspirational beauty and powers. In his poems, Ouyang Xiu, the great poet of the Song Dynasty mused about the intimate relationship and emotional connection between the love of wine and the pleasures of enjoying culture and nature. With our design, we explore this conceptual and lyrical space and weave a series of architectural narratives through the elements of nature: mountains, valleys, waterfalls, and rivers.”
– Ole Scheeren
The campus, designed for Wuliangye, one of China’s leading winemakers, aims to, in the words of architect Ole Scheeren ‘tell a story about the culture and appreciation of wine, a story about nature and its inspirational beauty and powers’. Wine, often seen as a tool for establishing connections and relationships, allows one to enjoy various cultures. Capturing this essence, the design for the campus weaves various architectural features through elements seen in the local landscape, including mountains, valleys, waterfalls, and rivers.
Inspired by the existing topography of a large canyon, two dynamic, undulating structures are placed parallelly to each other, inscribing a central space, and forming a fluid indoor-outdoor connection. Called the Wuliang Interstice, this area of the campus gives way to establishing an intimate relationship between the rich history and culture of Wuliang. On either side of the Wuliang interstice are the Wuliangye World and the Wine Culture Exhibition Center. A small stream flows through the space between the buildings, expressing a form of storytelling, connecting the campus to the river, and establishing a sense of flow in the establishment.
Wuliangye World is an experience center where visitors can engage with the tradition of winemaking, providing the visitors with an opportunity to engage with the brand and its produce. The design of the experience center is inspired by the features of precious vintage wine utensils. These features form the key interior spaces of the experience center and provide an opportunity to explore their shape and materiality through architecture. The wine culture exhibition center follows a similar spatial character as the Wuliangye world-building. It tells a story of wine culture in Yibin through a series of themed exhibition halls, various educational facilities, and spaces for events of larger scales. The Wuliang interstice, in addition to the exhibition center, preserves various irreplaceable relics, telling the story of Yibin through time. The relics include a part of the ancient city wall, a pagoda, and a buddha sculpture. These carefully preserved relics enhance the value of this structure and hold evidence of the city’s rich heritage.
The ceremonial plaza, visitor center, and riverside theatre are positioned along the path of the interstice and act as focal points to further enhance the user’s experience. Yibin is often associated with the world’s largest bamboo forest. The central space of the interstice pays an ode to this feature and is cladded in a permeable wooden façade screen and wooden columns, acting as an interface between the interior and exterior spaces. Indoor and outdoor spaces in the campus display a strong sense of unity and create paths that traverse the site, inviting the visitors in and creating a sense of curiosity. Boundaries between the two are dissolved through a multi-story zone. This zone features large-scale wooden posts and allows the visitors to experience a series of rich and diverse spatial environments. In these landscaped areas, one can stroll, rest or chat and immerse in the beauty and perfection of nature, while experiencing a strong architectural narrative.
The meandering open spaces allow for controlled airflow and enhance natural ventilation, thereby improving user comfort. Evaporative cooling through the plants and water features further improves thermal conditions. Green roofs and photovoltaic cells ensure adequate utilization of the roof space, allowing for on-site energy production. The successful design of the campus, keeping in mind the local topography, material choices, and the local landscape, provides for the structure to effortlessly blend in with its surroundings while being climatically responsive and responsible. Sheltered arcades act as sun shades and allow the entry of natural light without compromising on natural ventilation, creating an ideal microclimate during the hot and humid parts of the year in China while ensuring minimal use of mechanical means of thermal comfort.
Located at the cusp of architectural innovation and culture, this establishment is truly a success in all its facets. The user is offered a unique visual experience without compromising other essential aspects, including resource conservation and site responsiveness. It tells the story of the prevalent wine culture in the country through time, creating a narrative through architecture. The constant strive for perfection by the firm gave rise to a project that celebrates both the wine culture and the local topography.
References
| Article title | Büro Ole Scheeren Wins Competition to Design a Winemakers Campus and Tourism Complex in Yibin, China |
| URL | https://www.allcadblocks.com/buro-ole-scheeren-wins-competition-to-design-a-winemakers-campus-and-tourism-complex-in-yibin-china/ |
| Article title | Büro Ole Scheeren designs campus for Chinese winemaker |
| URL | https://www.globalconstructionreview.com/buro-ole-scheeren-designs-campus-for-chinese-winemaker/ |
| Article title | ole scheeren’s wuliang winemaker’s campus to become a folding landscape in china |
| URL | https://www.designboom.com/architecture/buro-ole-scheeren-wuliang-interstice-winemakers-campus-wuliangye-china-10-11-2022/ |
| Article title | This Chinese wine center will have an amazing ‘folding landscape’ |
| URL | https://fahrenheitmagazine.com/en/modern-art/Architecture/This-Chinese-wine-center-will-have-an-amazing-folding-landscape |
| Article title | Buro Ole Scheeren |
| URL | https://www.architonic.com/en/microsite/buro-ole-scheeren/5209626 |
