About an hour outside Portland, Oregon, winery Antica Terra is nestled in the Eola-Amity Hills where the rich landscape benefits the winemaker’s biodynamic bottles and regenerative ecosystem. When the winery’s neighbors retired, cofounder Maggie Harrison inherited the 148 acres next door which included a sheep barn. With the help of West of West and landscape architects ORCA, the winery converted the barn into a new private tasting space, gallery, barrel storage, and a commercial kitchen, titled Barrel Hall. But while instinct would have most positioning the structure to frame the land’s rolling hills and vineyards, West of West approached the renovation by shielding it from the outside. Rather, the design emphasizes on moving from the outside in, highlighting Antica’s considered process.
This begins immediately as guests approach the hall. The structure, whose gabled roof continues its barn history, is a dark volume at odds with the green land. The drama continues throughout the exterior with its simplified facade to make space for the entry tunnel, clad in black-stained, rough-sawn cedar plank. The angled walls and sloping ceiling carefully control light and darkness to guide guests through the space with a heightened sense of mystery and anticipation.
The tunnel gives way to a round anteroom, empty save for a hanging light fixture by Bennet Schlesinger. West of West organizes the spatial choreography so that production and guest spaces are on display but make explicit transitions between one another: Thresholds are punctuated by wood that utilizes a carved texture from Japanese woodworking called naguri. Still, continuity between spaces is felt as the 5,800-square-foot building holds over 300 barrels which are seen through the entrance of each of the five tasting rooms.
Within the tasting rooms, a single material is put to diverse and effective use. Vertical grain Douglas fir makes up the clean wooden walls as well as the custom shelving that holds bottles of wine, designed by West of West. These rooms are anchored by a long dining table, lit under delicate pendants for an intimate yet cozy tasting experience.
West of West uses a spare material palette to considerable effect for Antica Terra. The concept is rooted in discovery, from discovering the hall spatially through its controlled layout to exploring the many flavors and tastes that await inside.