Smelling and tasting are basic activities our senses involve when we drink wine. When we were approached to design Taste Wine Co. store, we were challenged to add a tactile experience that would allow users to interact, through a phone, with a series of wine tasting devices integrated into the architecture.

A system of modular display/storage wood structures wraps the walls and the ceiling re-shaping entirely the interior space into a new spatial volumetric reality. The store is conceived to guide the customer to a new way of shopping for wine. The transparent storefront aims to bring the city virtually inside, while the light becomes more dimmed in the heart of the store where the tasting tables are located. The background wall of the store is composed by a vertical translucent partition housing an installation of clear wine bottles. This element acts as light diffuser, becoming a point of attraction for the customers and providing a demising wall for a special
tasting room located in the back.

The lighting is provided by a series of linear LEDs placed behind the ceiling with accent lights on specific programmatic areas such as the point of sale, and the tasting tables. The materials chosen are natural wood contrasted by a gray envelope of painted walls and epoxy floor. This composition allows for a play of a planar and modular porosity where the gray walls and floor are containing the wooden framework that engages the customers in a three dimensional visual connection.

Architensions is an innovative multidisciplinary architecture and urban design studio dedicated to exploring the relationship between architecture and social development in contemporary cities. Through a process of reading the existing “genius loci”, the studio anchors each project to site specificity, with special sensibility for new buildings placed into contexts of particular cultural and historic importance. The reading of the context allows for an understanding of a place in time and space, with our minds and as well as our senses. The studio revolves around the partnership of founding principals Alessandro Orsini and Nick Roseboro. Their different educational and professional backgrounds, ranging from historic preservation to user interaction, allow for an expression of a project’s experiential qualities and for various methods of representation. Working closely with a team of innovative collaborators and consultants, Architensions offers an open platform for urban research and the tectonic aspects of architecture at every scale.