Jacob Gulezian 2017

Areni Vinicultural Center Archaeology and Vinification in Areni, Armenia Jacob Gulezian | Adviser: Simon Tickell Drexel University Architecture Thesis 2016 - 2017

Introduction:

history and wine in southern Armenia

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Armenia a small, landlocked country in the Caucasus region

Artifacts discovered in the Areni-1 caves with traces of wine from 4,100 BCE include the oldest known leather shoe and a human brain.

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world was recently discovered in Areni, a small village in southern Armenia.

Archaeologists dated the site to 4,100 BCE. The discovery created the need for a supporting facility to study, store and display the findings. It also sparked the idea that such a facility could act as a catalyst for economic growth in the region by continuing the tradition of wine production using modern techniques. The goals of this building would be manifold; it is intended to be a destination for locals, archaeologists, tourists and wineenthusiasts alike.

It is conceived as a functional building for small-scale wine production, as well as a research facility to assist archaeologists in their study, storage and display of ancient artifacts unearthed in the nearby Areni-1 caves, where the discovery was made. These caves, and the unique Areni Noir grapes grown in this region offer an interesting

foundation for a multi-layered building aspiring to revive wine production in the region, educate visitors about the process of vinification and the long history of it, while being an active research center.

Armenia is a small, landlocked country of only 3 million people; 1 million reside in the capital city of Yerevan.

Areni, a small village nestled in the Arpa valley with a population of about 2,000 near the closed border with Turkey. Armenia has a varied landscape of rolling hills, valleys and plains; Areni is no different. The isolation, high altitude and climate (3,250 feet, dry and hot) and unique terroir make for incomparable wines.

This project aims address problems in archaeology, which inherently disrupts objects then dissociates them from place by shipping them many miles for study and display. The project also aspires to spark interest, support and recognition for wine culture in Armenia, which had been suppressed during Soviet rule, but is now burgeoning and to give it presence and optimism moving into the future while recalling and honoring the past.

The very nature of a building like this raises some interesting theoretical questions. In one of the oldest countries in the world, how can new and old exist simultaneously while reinforcing and strengthening one-another? With such a unique program of research, production and consumption, how might novel and unexpected programmatic adjacencies foster excitement and interest? How might the archaeological work inform present day production techniques and can the attention and capital from visitors help to support the work without challenging the authenticity of the village? How can contemporary thinking and design honor and reflect a rich architectural history while bringing a modern approach that is progressive without being alienating?

If this building is to be truly successful it must reach people at a global scale, while also responding and serving those at the local level. How can one design a building to be world-wide in scope, but localized in tradition, for all user groups; residents, professionals and visitors?

In addition to the key programmatic

elements needed for wine production, this building includes a restaurant, museum, and a retail wine store. The second main program is support spaces for the archaeological studies.

This includes laboratories and storage.

Visitors will take part in a tour of the wine production facilities, the caves where wine is being aged and where archaeological work is being done.

The conceptual framework is based around the idea of procession from 2XWVLGH light to dark, vines to caves and back. •

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Process of

vinification or wine making

Growing + Harvesting

of grapes from the vines to be sorted and crushed into a must, or juice. It generally takes about three years for vines to mature to viable grape production. Vines can be active grape producers for over one hundred years.

Process of

Discovery

Fermentation

occurs after the must is passed into stainless steel vats. With yeast, fermentation turns sugars in the juice into alcohol.

This can take ten days to a month or more.

The yeast and proteins are then filtered out.

Aging

occurs in either large stainless steel vats, oak barrels or in clay amphora called ‘karas’ and can take six months to many years depending on the grape and the wine.

Bottling

occurs once the wine is sufficiently aged. the wine is then labeled and prepped for shipping.

Casing

and storage is then required before the wine is sent out for distribution. A case is typically 9 liters, or 12 bottles of wine.

Consumption

archaeology

at archaeological sites is a slow and laborious task. Every inch must be meticulously recorded and documented since the act itself is inherently destructive and disruptive to the site.

Extraction

and repairs take place at a low-tech lab.

Careful washing and cleaning of the artifacts is done under the watchful eyes of a conservationist or specialist.

Study

storage, and documentation of every aspect of the artifact then takes place.

They are then sent to storage or prepared for display.

Display

of found artifacts is the best way to engage and educate the general public, a central goal of archaeology: educating and reconnecting people with their history and cultural heritage.

Diagrams of the parallel processes that define the functional aspects of the building. Both are linear processes that cannot be reversed or recycled. However, the conceptual framework for the Areni Vinicultural Center was based on the idea of visitors experiencing these two processes in a loop that takes them from vine to cave and back. This conceptual journey was key to all design decisions made during the design process, from program layout, circulation and materiality.

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Precedents Scale

was an extremely important factor in the building’s design. These three case studies looked at wineries of three differing scales which helped me understand and determine the right size of the Areni Vinicultural Center.

Building scale is directly proportional to the scale of the operation.

From the outset I knew building scale should be kept low and studying theses precedents helped verify that thinking.

In doing this study, I concluded that a building most closely scaled to that of the Dominus Winery would be the right fit for this project and its site in Areni. That decision proved vital in the design process as a tool for distilling the building program to absolutely essential elements, thus enhancing the overall experience. •

Antinori Winery, Archea Associati

Faustino Winery, Foster + Partners

Dominus Winery, Herzog + de Meuron

area 49.000 m2 (527,430 ft2)

area 12.500 m2 (134,550 ft2)

area 4.100 m2 (44,132 ft2)

= 130 employees

= 80 employees*

= 40 employees* = 10 people

= 1 million bottles/yr.

= 60,000 bottles/yr.

= 10 barrels

= 3 million bottles/yr.

= 100,000 bottles/yr. *

= estimate

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Design Process At the first review, I presented a building that set up the two linear parallel process paths in plan, separated into two discreet building volumes partially sunk into the earth.

The eastern building housed the wine production, while the western housed the museum and archives. Though this was an easily read iteration on the concept, it made the two halves feel disconnected and unrelated. From this stage I took a step back to re-evaluate building form, programmatic layout and materiality, looking at Armenian architecture and the surrounding landscape.

Procession

OFFICE/MUSEUM Storage

Wine Lab Achaeology Lab

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Collection

Permanent MUSEUM

Program

Offices

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Seed Bank

Bottling

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Storage

Bottle Aging/ Tasting

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Rooms

Theater

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Formally, the design lacked continuity and consistency in articulation and, the footprint was too large and sprawling. This realization led to experimentation towards the condensing of both footprint and program.

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Design Process Unlike the linear processes occurring within the vinicultural center, the design process is a cyclical one that relies on hand drawing and computer modeling. In the weeks following the mid-review, I used both to explore various elements of the building design and program

Harvest Reception

Cafe/ Shop

Lounge

Grounds Keeper

Room 4019 SF

Mess Hall Loading/Shed

HR 4457 SF

Restaurant

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Sun angles Summer: 74° Equinox: 50° Winter: 26° Sun angles Summer: 74° Equinox: 50° Winter: 26°

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residences/offices

3598' Ǧ 6"

lab

Observation Deck

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karas

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layout, experimenting with bar configurations. Most importantly, it was during this stage that I turned the planar conceptual diagram into a sectional one that stacked the four main programmatic elements instead of spreading them. This simplified the building form and intensified the conceptual experience.

Observation Deck

A

H40 & A

Simultaneously, during the design phase, I was looking at and drawing inspiration from the history of Armenian architecture and the dramatic Armenian landscape. This seeded a formal realization inspired by both the jagged peaks of Armenia’s numerous mountain ranges and the stacked triangular geometries of its medieval churches. This inspiration manifested in the building’s defining architectural feature, its dramatic roof profile. This quickly evolved conceptually, as each peak was devised to contain and define each distinct stage in the winemaking process: harvest reception, fermentation, aging and bottling. •

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Technical Review

1

A

2

3

4

1

2

3

4

CISTERN

(Harvest) Reception

STORAGE

Prevalent winds

DN

1466SF

UP

B

Wine Production

Tanks

5168SF

6115SF

Tasting C 426SF

Lab

Kitchen

361SF

361SF

D

Cafe/ Rest.

1204SF

DN

Passively conditioned space

DN

Wine OÆ¥ces 760SF

E

26' - 0"

26' - 0"

22' - 0" 11' - 0" 22' - 0"

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-1

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1

2

3

4

1

2

3

At

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Water collection

Museum Storage/ Archives

Cistern

48' - 6"

Earth as thermal mass Case Storage

41' - 0"

905SF

1313SF

Museum 4425SF

Workshop 782SF

Theater

Structure

190’-9”

Mech

Mechanically conditioned space

45' - 0"

2977SF

726SF

Conservation Lab DN

UP

UP

56' - 3"

877SF

Summer: 74° Spring/Autumn: 50°

Oƥces 1717SF

Winter: 26°

Event Space

52' - 0"

Cistern

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-3

Earth Geothermal wells

the technical review I presented a building nearing conceptual and formal completion that was focused mainly on various structural and sustainable strategies to help complete the building as designed. The most important feedback at this stage, in working with a structural engineer, was the fact that the roof panels could span between sidewalls, negating the need for the steel columns, shown here, running down the building’s spine. This opened up the building plan and further simplified, and distilled the design. • 11

Final Review

View from bus drop-o

View from approach road

View from lodge

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PLANS

A R E N I ARMENIA 39°43’15”N 45°11’02”E

84’ 42’ 21’ 10.5’

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Harve t Reception

Storage

Pump Room

Freezer

B

Shop

Fermentation

C

DN

Storage / Archive

Ca Storage

Wine Production Ta Mechanical / Storage Aging

D

Lab

Kitchen

Bottling

Prep

Work hop

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Wine ƥ

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-1 (3598'-0")

Wine Production

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Consumption

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Sustainable strategies + Circulation Welded steel tube columns OLJKW

Structure

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Lightweight pre-cast tufa concrete roof Concrete retaining/ foundation walls ‡‹Â?ˆ‘”…‡† …‘Â?…”‡–‡ ƪ‘‘”• Moment connection Thin Film Photovoltaics Skylights

Summer: 74° Spring/ Autumn: 50°

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2

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Prevalent winds

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Winter: 26°

Tanks

5168SF

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Tasting C 426SF

Sustainability

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Kitchen

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26' - 0"

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The final design integrated a number of

sustainable and structural strategies derived from discussions during the technical review, including water collection through the weathered steel slanted box columns and natural daylighting from skylights in the north peaks of the roof. The building also uses the thermal mass of the earth it is embedded into to help regulate the internal temperature, with assistance from geothermal wells. Twin layers of operable curtain wall panels make up both the east and west building facades. The panels are held by deep vertical mullions used both for structure and as a brise-soleil, blocking direct solar penetration. Opening the windows will allow the building to take advantage of the prevalent northeastern winds. • 16

Construction + Materiality Construction - Reclaiming Concrete

Construction Insulated Concrete Sandwich Panel Cast in steel embed plates for mounting and construction

Cast 2nd layer of custom concrete around WWR Site excavation Collect extracted tufa stone

Line foundation with rubble to relieve water pressure

Mix custom concrete using extracted tufa as aggregate Cast foundation + exterior walls at grade

Tilt-up into place WaterprooƤng membrane

Custom Lightweight Tufa Concrete Tufa

is a porous rock composed of calcium carbonate and formed by precipitation from water, e.g., around mineral springs.

Concrete

is a mixture of paste and aggregates. The chemical process of hydration hardens the paste around fine and coarse aggregates giving the material its strength Concrete is typically composed of: 6% air 11% Portland Cement

Layer of high R-value rigid insulation

Crushed and ground tufa from excavation could make up 67% of the material needed to make concrete on site.

41% Gravel or Crushed Stone (Coarse Aggregate)

Cast layer of tufa concrete around Welded Wire Reinforcement (WWR)

26% Sand (Fine Aggregate) 16% Water

Available in a wide range of colors, tufa mixed into the concrete gives the building warmth and an indelible connection to the site and to Areni.

Build formwork on site

The construction strategy was conceived as a way of

using materials found on-site, honoring the past and striving towards the future. I propose re-using the tufa stone, common to almost all buildings in Armenia built before it became a Soviet state, which was extracted in the excavation process as the coarse and fine aggregate in light-weight insulated concrete sandwich panels. While a Soviet state, buildings were built mostly with concrete, so workers are familiar with the process, but this proposes a certain reclamation of concrete using the native stone. This will both lighten the concrete (as tufa is a very light, porous and airy stone) and give it a warmth and indelible connection to the land and to Areni. •

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18

19

Observation & Tasting Wine Production & Lab Ƭ ƥ Terrace & Museum 3574' - 0"

Areni-1 Caves 3370'-0”

H40 & Arpa River 3320' - 0"

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The previous series of pages contain architectural renderings used in the final presentation and an architectural site model at 1:50 scale that helped to illustrate the building concept and its siting across the valley from the Areni-1 caves. The renderings depict key moments in the visitors journey through first the vineyard and into the building to the fermentation tanks, Karas for aging and down the stairs towards the caves. These show the result of the linear nature of the building and its orientation towards the caves, as they are continuously visible through the south glazing. Images also show the atmosphere at the lowest level event space and observation terrace before re-entering the building into the museum level, where visitors can see ancient artifacts juxtaposed with modern-day karas holding contemporary wine.

The project was well-received by jurors, peers and professors alike, and was awarded the first place honor and Michael Pearson Architecture Prize for the student “who produces the best thesis project , and who, in the course of the thesis year, shows exceptional spirit in pursuing the work.â€? • 21