Bodegas y Bebidas, one of the largest groups in the Rioja Region, commissioned Calatrava to create a distinctive piece of architecture in the rocky hills of the Sierra in northern Spain, for the promotion of one of their most exclusive products. The building compares favourably with local wineries designed by internationally renowned architects such as Rafel Moneo and Frank Gehry. The scheme for this low-industry facility responded to the need to accommodate basic operations of wine production: to make, store, and sell wine.

Located about an hour south of Bilbao by car, Ysios is one of the first Spanish wineries to compete with their French counterparts to the north. The building is located in roughly rectangular site, with pronounced grade changes, half of which is covered with vineyards. The building’s 8,000 square meters plan extends symmetrically from the sharper roof curve of the monumental entrance, a space of dizzying height that acts as atrium with its spectacular full-height bay window, seemingly a celebration of the glory of wine. The linear configuration accommodates the wine making process and is placed along an east-west axis.

It is constructed by two longitudinal concrete load-bearing walls, 26 meters apart and 196 meters long, with a sinusoidal shape in plan and in elevation. The materials used throughout are appropriately those used in winemaking: oak, assembled horizontally and enhancing the length of the building, and metal for the shine of the roof and the interior elements. In a manner consistent with the facade, the most distinctive feature is a radiant aluminium roof, formed in rolling waves that both recall and interact with the surrounding landscape.

A visitor center occupies the center of the building and overlooks the winery and vineyards, providing a peaceful space for wine tasting. The design is a unique demonstration of the robustness of the principles of Calatrava’s poetics, which can be adapted to a wide range of circumstances. At the same time it also shows how deeply his process is rooted in the region, respectful to a setting that owes its identity not only to its natural environment but also to its culture as a place of cultivation.

The intricate geometry of the structure creates a strong profile but does not mimic the surrounding topography, with the snow-capped Pyreness in the distance. It rides like a wave among their gently rolling forms rather than bearing down on them. Ysios recalls the remarkable sinusoidal line of the roof of Gaudi’s so-called Small Schools adjacent to the Sagrada Familia. The ruled surface wave combines concave and convex surfaces as it evolves along the longitudinal axis. A pool follows the curve of the external timber wall, offering reflections that bounce back as trembling liquid shadows.

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