Gold Interior Space and Exhibition Design · 2020
Portugal Vineyards Retail Space
- A' Design Award 2020 Gold Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Awarded April 15, 2020
- CLIENT: Porto Architects
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 38,936
- Verification code 1C0006D1FA · Verify this award
About Portugal Vineyards Retail Space
The Portugal Vineyards concept store is the first physical store for the online wine specialist company. Located adjacent to the company’s headquarters, facing the street and occupying 90m2, the store consists of an open-plan devoid of partitions. The interior is a blindingly white and minimal space with circular circulation - a white canvas for the Portuguese wine to shine and be displayed. The shelves are carved out of the walls in reference to the wine terraces on a 360 degrees immersive retail experience with no counter.
Within the contemporary discourse surrounding experiential retail architecture, Ricardo Porto Ferreira's Portugal Vineyards Retail Space emerges as a sophisticated meditation on the intersection of commercial function and spatial poetry, transforming the conventional wine shop typology into an immersive environment that elevates the act of selection and purchase into a contemplative ritual. The design appears to draw upon multiple architectural lineages, perhaps suggesting affinities with the organic modernism pioneered by mid-twentieth-century masters who sought to liberate architecture from orthogonal constraints, while simultaneously engaging with contemporary minimalist traditions that privilege material purity and chromatic restraint. The curvilinear walls flow through the space with remarkable fluidity, their sweeping profiles potentially evoking the terraced contours of hillside vineyards translated into abstract architectural gesture, thereby establishing a subtle conceptual connection between built environment and viticultural landscape without resorting to literal representation. Technical accomplishment manifests in the seamless integration of display systems within the curved architectural surfaces, where floating shelves follow the serpentine walls to create continuous horizontal bands of product presentation that transform merchandise into compositional elements contributing to the overall spatial harmony. The chromatic decision to deploy pure white throughout establishes what might be understood as a neutral ground against which the rich colors of wine labels and bottle contents achieve maximum visual impact, suggesting a curatorial approach borrowed from gallery practice wherein the architecture recedes to foreground the objects of contemplation. One might observe how the singular motion-blurred figure introduces temporal dimension and human measure into the otherwise timeless environment, inviting consideration of how the space accommodates movement, discovery, and dwelling. What qualities of attention does such an environment cultivate, and how might architectural restraint paradoxically amplify sensory awareness of the products within?
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- A white canvas for the Portuguese wine to shine and be displayed. The interior is a blindingly white and minimal space with circular circulation. The shelves are carved out of the walls in reference to the wine terraces on a 360 degrees immersive retail experience with no counter. A retail space where staff are on the client side, suggesting, promoting and serving.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Knauf, drywall system; Marilina, epoxy floor; Cin, paint; Ezpeleta, chairs; Lumit, lighting; Charme Versatil, fit-out.
- Tags
- Portugal Vineyards, terraces, curved walls, white space, minimal interiors
- Production Technology
- The curving walls are made of a gypsum board supported by a metal frame and the shelves are engineered wood supported in the same structure. The color is an element of the wine tasting process. After taking the decision to have a bright space we found that the RAL 9003 is the recommended color to be used as a background when observing the aging wine in the wine tasting events. It made sense to us to apply it to our concept as retail is all about the exhibition.
- Design Challenge
- The creative challenge of this project was to find that a circle plan could be the best answer for a squared existing space. Facing a squared plan, a cornered entrance and a secondary access we found our answer in the use of geometry. The displays are carved out of the walls in reference to the vineyard terraces in a circular shape that fills the customer field of view sensitively with indirect lighting and the sharp contrast between the product and the space.
- Project Duration
- The project duration was from April to September 2019.
- Operation Flow
- Space with very linear, clear and open circulation where the staff is placed in center stage. From the moment clients enter the space they are accompanied side-by-side, with no counters, shelves or walls dividing or separating them from the staff members.
- Research
- The initial challenges behind the space were to find the answers through geometry, to allow enough footfall to have the 600 references the clients intended to display, the design should allow the space to be used as a venue for suppliers presentations and to have an area for wine tasting. These requirements were answered through the definition of a radious that allowed the inner circle to gather about 50 people; three levels of terraces where all the bottles rest and a loop circulation that would be broken by the access points.
- Inspiration
- The traditional references to dark cellars and wood materials had to be completely disregarded. Out of this brief we immediately interpreter the need for light and an open plan. Also, while designing a retail space, where emotions tend to be rationalised and as a designer, we work to find solutions beyond the existing condition.
- Image Credits
- #1: Photographer Ivo Tavares Studio
- Patents
- Copyrights belong to Porto Architects, 2019
Colors of Portugal Vineyards Retail Space
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Design Interview about Portugal Vineyards Retail Space
The traditional references to dark cellars and wood materials had to be completely disregarded. Out of the brief we immediately interpreter the need for light and an open plan. Also, while designing a retail space, where emotions tend to be rationalized and as a designer, we work to find solutions beyond the existing condition.
The design the canvas for the Portuguese wine to shine and be displayed. The white color and a subtle intervention with circular circulation. The curved shelves carved out of the walls in reference to the wine terraces on a 360 degrees immersive retail experience with no counter.
Hopefully inspire new shapes and forms to designers and create the will to visit it.
From inception to site 3 months.
Its was a commission and the idea came out of several discussions with the client ahead of starting designing, where we both created different scenarios and possibilities.
One of the concerns was to create a solution that was easy to communicate the details without compromising the design intent. For that we studied several wall profiles details to assure we could develop a solution that could be extruded all around the area and end up with and concept we were searching for.
The references to this project where the mix between the wine terraces in Douro Wine Country and Art Galleries that typically allow a free flow of circulation paths.
Since the location is not premium for a retail store, and with no shopfront, we hope to attract people that come to visit the space or get pinched by the idea of a different experience than the traditional wineries.
The blindingly white color and curved geometry.
The detail