Instructor: John McMorrough
Location: Sonoma, CA
Program: Vineyard
Term: Spring 2026 (graduate semester 4)
The art and practice of wine-making has evolved over the centuries, yet it has remained a steadfast part of human culture and identity. This project acts as a repository of this culture as well, enticing and educating people about wine in a way that is demystifying yet maintains the sanctity of the ancient practice.
The approach to this building mimics the terroirists’ approach to wine in that the design should be deeply rooted to the place (site) and culture that produced it (program). The vineyard typology can not be separated from its land, and this is particularly poignant in the age of climate change.
Physically, there will be a duality of old and new, stereotomic and tectonic- forms reminiscent of caves, beautifully designed glass, and an appreciation of process. This architecture aims to emulate the design of a wine glass not formally but experientially, representing the culmination of acquired knowledge and design evolution.
In acting as a microcosm of culture, the vineyard addresses issues of social rituals and mitigates the relationship with past and future. Ultimately, culture is ongoing; this project is about finding a balance of preservation and transformation. We can not live in the past, yet currently there is little thought for anything but the future.