Wine Center Architecture - Loisium Hotel by Steven Holl

On the edge of the picturesque town of Langenlois, west of Vienna, a new wine center and visitors' facility was built on a gently south-sloping vineyard to celebrate the rich local heritage of a magnificent wine vault system. This historic subterranean network, which includes 900 year old stone passages, underlies the urban plan of the town. The north-south axis of the network echoes that of the Baroque houses above and suggests the existence of a second town below that which is visible.

The project is composed of three parts: the existing vaults, which were made accessible to visitors, the Wine Center, and the Loisium Hotel Wine and Spa Resort. The vault system's geometry is transformed into an abstract three dimensional spatial language.

This language forms the basis of the architecture of the Wine Center and Hotel, wherein each project element is derived from and related to the unique spaces of the vaults, while simultaneously having individual qualities of space, materials, light and experience. The three elements of the project stand in relation to a geometric field of vineyards, the landscape of wine production:
1. Under the ground Existing Vaults
2. In the ground Wine Center and Ramp Connection
3. Over the ground Loisium Hotel Wine and Spa Resort The Hotel Spa Resort Like the grid of the city, the geometric spacing of the vineyard rows is continuous through the landscape connecting the three elements.

Architects: Steven Holl Architects
Location: Langenlois, Austria
Architects: Steven Holl (design architect), Christian Wassmann (project architect), Garrick Ambrose, Dominink Bachmann, Rodolfo Dias, Peter Englaender, Johan van Lierop, Chris McVoy, Ernest Ng, Olaf Schmidt, Brett Snyder, Irene Vogt (project team)

Local Architect: ARGE Architekten
Project Year: 2001-2005
Structural Engineer: Retter & Partner GmbH, A-Krems
Mechanical Engineer: Altherm Engineering, A-Baden
Constructed Area: 7,000 sqm
Photographs: Christian Richters