World Building of the Week

Pictograma Winery

Antonio La Gioia
21. October 2024
Photo: Grupo UBK
Photo: Fernando Marroquin 

The site is located in the Guadalupe Valley and is part of the wine route in the Francisco Zarco delegation in Ensenada, Baja California. Pictograma's activities include not only winemaking but also the production of olive derivatives, such as oils and fragrances, as well as the cultivation of lavender and orange trees. Inspired by Franciscan architecture, the winery building invites introspection. 

Photo: Grupo UBK

With a surface area of 1,963 m² (21,130 sf), the winery is organized around a circular floor plan with a radius of 25 meters (82 feet). The structure is composed of 12 trapezoidal radial walls of reinforced concrete that organize the different areas of the architectural program: tasting rooms, fermentation tanks, bottling areas, barrel storage, laboratories, and a maneuvering yard. In the center is a 113 m² (1,216 sf) courtyard, with a brick pavement laid out in a radial pattern. The building is surrounded by a slope covered with native vegetation, which visually integrates it with the surroundings, preventing it from being visible from the outside at the access level.

Photo: Grupo UBK

Two main vaults rest on the radial walls: a smaller one on the inside and a larger one on the outside. Both are built with red annealed brick, with the courses exposed to the interior and protected externally with a layer of mortar.

Photos: Grupo UBK

In short, the project, as the studio describes it, consists of 12 reinforced concrete walls, 22 vaults that make up the roof and a perimeter slope that constitutes its exterior facade — all combined in a very expressive way.

Photo: Fernando Marroquin
Project: Pictograma Winery, 2023
Location: Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California, Mexico
Architecture: Rojkind Arquitectos + AMASA Estudio
  • Project Team: Michel Rojkind, Agustín Pereyra, Andrea López, Ruth Díaz, Roxana León, Omar Valdés, Eli Ambris (model), Jorge Santiago, Sonia Santaella, Victor Crúz, Daniel Flores, Ricardo Hernandez, Yoshio Fukumori, Fernando Franco, Victoria Grossi, David Rivera Cortez
Structural Engineering: Ing. Juan Felipe Heredia
Branding and Concept: Cadena y Asociados
Interior Design: Mutuo Estudio
Lighting: Luz en Arquitectura
MEP: Ing. Germán Muñóz
Landscape Design: Alma du Solier
Site Representative: Rojkind Arquitectos + AMASA Estudio
Construction Manager: Grupo UBK - Eymard Hernández
Ground Floor Plan (Drawing courtesy of Rojkind Arquitectos)
Roof Plan (Drawing courtesy of Rojkind Arquitectos)
Building Sections (Drawing courtesy of Rojkind Arquitectos)

This review was first published as “Bodega Pictograma, por Rojkind Arquitectos” on Spanish-Architects. English translation edited by John Hill.

Related articles

Featured Project

Nattler Architekten

Vaillant Betriebsrestaurant in Remscheid

Other articles in this category