Bodegas Protos

Nestling in the shadow of the Castle, in the town of Penafiel, lies the headquarters of winemaker Bodegas Protos. Part of the existing winery occupies tunnels under the castle, but a new tunnel links the old to the striking new facility by RSH. Like an iceberg, most of the new building seems to be, and in fact is, underground. This volume - the lower of the two floors - occupies all of the triangular site. The west end is curved to follow the line of the boundary road. It is used for offices - illuminated naturally by an ovoid lightwell - along with fermentation and storage vats. The first floor accommodation, entered at grade, comprises five graceful parabolic arches, each topped with a terracotta clad curved roof. These roofs float above the arches and each is a different length from its adjacent neighbour to accommodate the tapering site. Four of the roofs are walled with glass - with overhangs offering shade - whilst the space beneath the fifth roof is left open.