Lahofer Winery, Dobšice, Czech Republic

Architects: Ondřej Chybik, Michal Kristof
Text: György Szegő
Photos: Alex Shoots Buildings

Located in the Moravian region of the Czech Republic, the site of the new winery inaugurated recently is a brewery of a 19th-century beer manufactury and the neighbouring technical facility, which was added to the old plant premises in the 1970s. An important goal of the concept was to contain the various layers of the previous modifications with the new function. The brewery was restored to its original design preserving the essence of the original space to house an exhibition of local history and a wine-tasting function. The newly built visitors’ space evokes the design of an amphitheatre, and harmoniously nestles into the landscape interspersed with rows of vines. Concerning the technical hall, it was only the external structure that has been preserved; its reconsidered and revised design connects the spatial row with a playful rhythm of organic arches and varied planes. The roof of the space facing the rows of vines is a symbolic form, evoking the arches of the plant itself, as well as the undulating surface of the cultivated, fertile soil, the shapes of the barrels and the vaults of the cellars.

Architecture: Chybik + Kristof
Leading architects: Ondrej Chybik, Michal Kristof
Fellow architects: Adam Jung, Lenka Vořechovská, Hanin Al-Gibury, Karolina Holankova, Martin Holy, Vojtech Kouril, Ondrej Mundl, Matej Strba, Zuzana Zathurecka, Zuzana Pelikanova, Victor Cojocaru, Laura Emilija Druktenytė, Zuzana Lisoňová, Gabriela Voláková