Wine museum in Corsica
The wine museum in the city of Patrimonio in the north of Corsica not only serves as showcase for the wine of this cultivation area, but also provides information on production methods as well as the cultural and geographic context. Numerous smaller buildings are tightly grouped around terraced courtyards, stairs, and pathways. On top of a pedestal made of natural stone embedded in concrete, 60 cm strong walls consisting of massive, saw-cut limestone blocks rise upwards. Below the ceiling and ceiling joists, the walls dissolve into blocks oriented perpendicularly to the facade. In front of them, profiled glass is set into the facade, flush to the exterior. This permits light to enter the interiors via a small window band. The stone walls react slowly to temperature changes and feature only few openings. In combination with the roof planting, this contributes to low temperatures in the interior in the hot summer months, when the majority of visitors is expected to come. The distribution of spaces across smaller individual buildings is also advantageous for a cooling cross-ventilation. This mode of construction recalls traditional buildings of the region in a modern form. The architects deliberately decided to omit any further insulation or mechanical ventilation and air conditioning technology. A series of pools in the open spaces, in part situated in front of windows, contributes to evaporative cooling.
