The wine-growing tradition in southern Czechia is still relatively young. With more than 430 hectares of land Lahofer Winery has established itself in recent years as one of the largest businesses in the region and is continuing to grow. When leafing through their local newspaper, the architects, who are based in Brno, read about the winery's ambitions. They saw potential for a project and took action. The architects Ondfej Chybik and Michal Kristof - known for the design of the Czech pavilion at the 2015 World Exhibition in Milan - contacted the business and presented their idea about building a new home for the winery - successfully. Surrounded by vineyards, this new home for Lahofer Winery is not far from the town of Znojmo. The complex is made up of a production and a warehouse hall and a showroom with offices. Upon entering the site, you are immediately struck by the clarity of the structure. The strict rhythm of the glass elements takes up the expansiveness of the surrounding vineyards, whose linearity is continued in the building's interior. The closer you come to the entrance on the left-hand side of the elongated building, the more the initial impression of rigidity yields to that of a dynamic architecture. What first looked like columns between the areas of glazing are revealed to be the front ends of flat frames that project out of the building. An arch-like opening is cut out of each of the concrete frames that are arranged in a row extending the entire length of the space. The interior has an almost sacred feeling and at the front functions as a showroom where visitors can taste the wines and enjoy a view of the winery. The offices of the business are located in the rear part, separated only by large areas of glazing, and are designed to be open and transparent. "In this way a new kind of community and exchange between the members of the staff is developed. We didn't want to build the classic cellular offices for the employees", says Ondfej Chybik.
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