projects | Viabizzuno progettiamo la luce

‘wine is one of the greatest signs of civilisation in the world,' ernest hemingway. in alcamo at number 43 via maria riposo, a major and much-frequented street in a small town, you can find the ‘manfrè vini' wine shop. the manfrè family's love of wine dates from 1978, when a small shop was opened on the ground floor; the family grew and so did their love for the product together with the desire to add to the sale of wines a space for guided sampling and a small-scale catering service. these were the objectives behind the project. in an architectural, structural, and functional context the volume was organised on three levels. the different levels are crossed by a 30 centimetres thick glass wall which becomes a display case for wines, cutting cleanly through the section of the building. the glass wall is the main element of the project; it defines it, determines its functions, and makes it dynamic and fluid. the new iron structure of the building is intercalated in the original masonry; the 4 millimetres sheet metal, staircase which links the floors, has been treated with sea water to make it rust, then painted with transparent paint to maintain the resulting colour and texture. on the ground floor is the area where wine is sold to the public: the walls are lined throughout with a notable collection of wines boxed into narrow shelves in wengé wood; the well-lit counter covered in african zebrawood and wengé defines the space together with the chocolate-coloured wall of the stairs cut by slits of light obtained by recessed c1 fixtures by Viabizzuno. on the first floor is a small lounge bar characterised by colour, by a sofa and by a bookshelf for magazines and books on the theme of wine; a change of height brings you to the main dining area. the second floor has a huge sofa where you can sit in comfort to taste the great sicilian wines: the space, the equivalent of two floors in height, has been designed to overlook the lower floor and the street because ‘… wine must be drunk with a great sense of poetry, almost religiously. and since wine is truly the spirit of our land, the ecstasy of our light, it should be drunk in the setting of the country, with hearts and minds filled with memories of events and customs historic and courteous' (arturo marescalchi). the intervention can be clearly seen from outside through a large glassed opening which takes up most of the main façade.