Vik Winery and Hotel

The VIK winery features a unique, unprecedented design, which is at once state-of-the-art, highly sustainable, technologically creative and a stunning visual experience that redefined the wine experience.

Carrie and Alexander Vik, embarked on an architectural competition of Chilean architects in 2007, snd ultimately selected Smiljan Radic (in association with Loreto Lyon) as the principal architect and designer for his inspired and winery design. After the selection of Radic, the VIK team spent three years refining and improving the original design concept and materials. Set amongst the mountains and sweeping valleys, with the soaring Andes in the distance, the winery has been thoughtfully designed to have minimal impact on the landscape and implemented the most cutting-edged technology while also striving to create a unique design and be operationally efficient.

The winery’s design features a uniquely transparent, stretched fabric roof that allows for natural sunlight to permeate the winery operate without artificial lighting. The entrance to the winery is an arresting visual display of a two-degree sloping plaza of running water streaming over the space, which provides an additional cooling element. Placed throughout the plaza is a sculptural installation by Radic and sculptor Marcela Correa–Chile's inspired, talented husband-and-wife team. Walkways have been cut into the plaza, allowing visitors to walk through the water-filled landscape. The majority of the building is located underground to naturally cool the wine during the wine-making process by maintaining a consistent temperature of fifty-seven degrees using the natural thermal amplitude of the valley. The fabric roof, the primary architectural element that can be seen from the outside, gives the impression of an enormous white wing suspended over this underground winery. Both sides of the winery feature high glass walls, making the winery transparent and giving visitors a view through the winery to the pavillion on the other side.