This wine tasting pavilion is set into a hillside and hidden by forest surrounding a small and rugged vineyard on the north slope of a dormant volcano. The land is strewn with obsidian rock, much of which was cleared to make way for the vines. As if rising from the ashes, the building appears through the trees and is constructed of gabion walls filled with the obsidian rock cleared for the vines and framed with lumber reclaimed from recent forest fires nearby. Sited to take advantage of the view toward Clear Lake to the north, this building is essentially invisible until you are upon it, and after you leave it can be completely sealed shut to fend itself from fires that historically sweep through the area.
Lake County, CA
Mosswood Engineering
Design phase, Institutional / Commercial