CLIENT: Solvero Wines
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Solvero Wines retained PRI for the structural, civil, geotechnical, and mechanical design and construction services of a new wine production building and tasting room. The facility supports wine production from the adjacent vineyard and includes nine 9,500-litre storage tanks, a barrel storage area, and an outdoor patio for tastings adjacent to the tasting building.
CHALLENGE:
The project involved a sloping site with significant grade changes, requiring tall internal and external walls and architectural retaining walls. The design demanded a mixed construction approach across steel, timber, and concrete systems, while accommodating the functional and aesthetic requirements of both an industrial production facility and a guest-facing tasting room.
APPROACH:
PRI designed a mixed structural system using steel moment frames to provide lateral stability for both buildings, with expressed glue-laminated pitched beams in the tasting building for gravity loading — lending the space an architectural warmth fitting for a guest experience. The production building was engineered to accommodate the operational demands of winemaking, including the weight and layout of the nine large-format storage tanks and barrel storage. Civil, geotechnical, and mechanical design were coordinated alongside the structural work to deliver a fully integrated solution across the sloping site.
OUTCOME:
The production building opened ahead of schedule in July 2023, allowing Solvero Wines to begin operations from the new facility. The full facility, including the tasting room and outdoor patio, reached completion in October 2023, delivering a functional and architecturally distinctive winery that serves both production and hospitality purposes.