The Peacock Wine Cellar

Kyle MertensMeyer · CLIENT: Godolphin

The Peacock is a wine cellar of about ten square meters. The cellar is lined with one thousand blue glazed terra cotta tiles, each shaped and finished by hand. The tiles are arranged in a triple curved array inspired by the form of a peacock. Each tile holds a wine bottle and carries a small light that illuminates the tile below, so the only other light source is a single spotlight above the central table. The tiles were made by artisans in Jingdezhen, China, using a feather textured blue glaze of the Song Dynasty. Cooling is managed by a smart controller.

Press Kit

Unique Properties

The Peacock Cellar's use of ancient craftsmanship combined with contemporary fabrication technologies creates a beautiful and intentional joining of past and present. The blue tone of the cellar comes from one thousand individually handcrafted blue glazed clay tiles, glistening like the peacock's feathers. The symbolism of the peacock showcases both elegance and strength. To create these tiles, the design team and client worked with artisans from the historic porcelain town of Jingdezhen, China, known for the most exquisite porcelain throughout the dynasties.

Dimensions & Packaging

Within the 10m2 cellar, the feathered tiles are splayed using a triple curved parametric array inspired by the majestic form of the peacock. The cellar tiles are designed with a dual purpose to hold each bottle and serve the cellar's light source. 3D printing was used to prototype the shape of tiles for stability. Additionally, at the base of each tile is a single small LED that lights the tile beneath the other; there is no additional lighting within the cellar other than a single spotlight directed downward above the central table resembling the peacock's head.

Tags

Terra-cotta, Wine Cellar, Blue, Glazing, Song Dynasty, Jingdezhen, Tile, Parametric, 3D-Printing

Production Technology

For over two years, the artisans worked to recreate the glazing for each tile one by one in small kilns. Incredibly, the technique required extreme heat to achieve the blue color tone, and as a result, only 1 in 10 pieces crafted survived in the end. For every tile seen in the cellar, nine others cracked in the extreme heat or were flawed. Due to the difficulty and time needed to create such craftsmanship, it's unlikely that such work would be attempted again or repeated by others, making this a one-of-a-kind piece of art for our time.

Design Challenge

The most challenging aspect of this project was to create the specific blue feathered glazing for the terra-cotta tiles. More than fifty artisans attempted, and only one prevailed. The process of creating each was long and intensive. Each tile was made as a hollow sculpture and glazed in blue twice. Extreme heat needed to create the blue color caused many of the tiles to crack in the process and required delicate expertise. Our team and the artisans realized through this process why this glazing typology had been a rarity throughout history.

Project Duration

The Project Began in January 2019 in Shanghai, China, and was completed in July 2021.

Operation Flow

The cellar operation is designed to be seamless and functions with ease. The primary cooling function is controlled by a smart controller with access via APP for the wine cellar's owner. Additionally, a custom aluminum ladder was designed to access wine bottles at elevated heights. The ladder is light and easily moved as it attaches to a floated steel ring around the top of the cellar.

Research

The primary research required for this project pertained to testing the shape of the blue terra-cotta tile and its ability to safely hold the wine bottles while still allowing ease of access. The team used a series of 3d printed prototypes and shake tests to evolve the shape of the tile. Additionally, the team used the 3D printed prototypes to build mockups to study the lighting integration methods for the wine cellar.

Inspiration

From 960-1127, during the Song Dynasty, artisans crafted a unique style of feather-textured blue porcelain glaze. Since then, this particular blue glazing technique has disappeared. Our team spent months searching for artisans who could bring back this feather-textured glazing technique as the key feature for this cellar.

Image Credits

Main image is Image #1: Wen Studio
Optional Image #1: Dirk Weiblen Photography
Optional Image #2: Dirk Weiblen Photography
Optional Image #3: Wen Studio
Optional Image #4: Wen Studio

Video Credit: Wen Studio

Patents

N/A

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