The Winery at VIK, designed by the 2026 Pritzker Prize winner Smiljan Radic in collaboration with Loreto Lyon, is set within a vineyard valley in San Vicente, Chile. The project combines a largely subterranean production facility with a lightweight membrane roof that floats above the terrain. Rather than asserting a dominant object within the landscape, the architecture emphasizes environmental integration, climatic performance, and a carefully choreographed sequence that links agricultural production, visitor circulation, and the broader geography of the valley.
The Winery at VIK Technical Information
- ArchitectsSmiljan Radic, Loreto Lyon
- LocationSan Vicente, Chile
- Project Years2010 – 2014
- Photographs© Cristobal Palma / Estudio Palma
The project explores how a winery can remain largely hidden within the terrain while allowing light, landscape, and movement to shape the experience above and below ground.
– Smiljan Radic
Landscape as Generator: Embedding the Winery in the Chilean Valley
The winery occupies a longitudinal valley in San Vicente, surrounded by vineyard terraces and distant Andean ridges. A distinctive conical hill rises directly behind the building, serving as a visual anchor that establishes the project’s primary axis. This geographic condition informs the structure’s orientation, which opens outward toward the broader valley while maintaining a restrained presence within the terrain.
Rather than placing a fully exposed building within the agricultural setting, the majority of the winery is inserted beneath the ground plane. Production spaces extend below the landscape, allowing the architecture to align with the topography while minimizing visual impact. This strategy also supports the thermal stability required for fermentation and storage. The consistent temperatures generated by the valley’s natural thermal amplitude reduce dependence on mechanical climate control within the production spaces.
At the scale of the estate, vineyards are organized symmetrically around the winery, positioning the building as the operational and spatial center of the agricultural system. The site plan reinforces this condition. Rows of vines extend across the valley floor and gently rising slopes, visually converging toward the structure. Architecture and cultivation thus operate within a single territorial framework where the building functions as both infrastructure and focal point.
The Fabric Roof: Structural Canopy and Environmental Interface
The most visible architectural element is a large tensioned fabric membrane that hovers above the partially buried winery. Its curved form stretches across the structure as a continuous canopy supported by steel truss systems. From a distance, the roof reads as a pale, elongated shape suspended over the vineyard landscape, contrasting with the earthy tones of the surrounding valley.
The membrane serves both environmental and spatial purposes. Its translucent surface allows natural light to filter into the building below, softening the interior atmosphere of industrial production areas and circulation corridors. Instead of relying solely on artificial illumination, daylight diffuses across the interior surfaces, highlighting the space’s structural organization. The resulting lighting condition emphasizes the depth of the underground halls without eliminating their subterranean character.
Structurally, the exposed roof system becomes the project’s primary architectural gesture. Steel members articulate the tensioned surface and maintain the canopy’s slender profile. While the production facilities remain embedded within the ground, the roof operates as a lightweight counterpoint above them. This contrast between mass and membrane establishes a clear architectural duality between the concealed processes of production and the perceptible architectural presence within the valley.
Processional Architecture and the Water Plaza
Arrival at the winery unfolds through a large entrance plaza defined by a shallow layer of running water. The plaza slopes gently across a broad surface, with narrow concrete walkways cutting linear routes through the reflective plane. Visitors move along these paths while water flows slowly across the dark ground surface, creating a shifting field of light and reflection.
Scattered throughout the plaza are groups of river stones and sculptural arrangements developed by Smiljan Radic and sculptor Marcela Correa. Their placement introduces objects that appear simultaneously natural and deliberate. Some stones remain close to their original geological form, while others are stacked or carefully composed. The installation blurs traditional distinctions between landscape intervention, artistic installation, and architectural forecourt.
Beyond its visual presence, the water surface performs environmental functions. The thin layer of water moderates heat at the entrance while amplifying reflected daylight beneath the roof canopy. As visitors approach the building, the reflective plane frames the structure and captures shifting colors of the sky and surrounding vineyards. The plaza, therefore, operates as both a climactic device and an experiential threshold before entry into the underground spaces.
Production Infrastructure and Visitor Experience
Inside the winery, the spatial sequence aligns with the stages of wine production. Visitors are introduced to the fermentation hall, where stainless steel tanks occupy large subterranean chambers. Circulation routes run above these production areas along elevated walkways, allowing movement through the space without interrupting its operational function. The organization makes the industrial process visible while maintaining a clear separation between visitors and the working infrastructure.
A strong axial perspective extends through the building, linking successive spaces along the production line. From the fermentation hall, views continue through the barrel cellar and toward areas dedicated to tasting and presentation. Vertical openings and carefully positioned light sources reinforce this longitudinal sequence, guiding the visitor through alternating zones of shadow, filtered daylight, and controlled artificial lighting.
At the upper level, a glass pavilion reestablishes contact with the surrounding landscape. Positioned beneath the sweeping membrane roof, the pavilion provides unobstructed views toward the water plaza, vineyards, and distant mountain ridges. The curved glass façade frames the valley while interior circulation overlooks the production spaces below. This final space reorients the visitor from the enclosed logic of production back to the wider geographic context that ultimately defines the character of the wine.
About Smiljan Radic
Smiljan Radic is a Chilean architect known for an experimental architectural approach that blends structural clarity, material exploration, and strong connections to landscape. His work often investigates the relationship between built form, natural terrain, and sensory experience, producing architecture that is both conceptually radical and deeply rooted in place. Radic’s projects frequently blur boundaries between art, infrastructure, and architecture, emphasizing experiential qualities, environmental responsiveness, and unconventional structural expression.
Credits and Additional Notes
- Client: Carrie and Alexander Vik (Vik Retreats)
- Other contributors: Sculptural Installation by Smiljan Radic and Marcela Correa
- Other contributors: Chief Oenologist – Patrick Valette
