(A Special House For Wine Lovers)

The Solar Vineyard House is a conceptual proposal for a house designed especially for wine lovers in the temperate climate of California. The 5000 square foot structure incorporates a small wine making facility, and it would be built in the middle of its own private vineyard. The house would be partially powered by four large curved solar panels that are integrated into the south side of the structure. The house also incorporates natural ventilation and the interior is shaded with large overhangs that extend over all of the glass windows and doors. Sustainably grown wood slatted pathways run throughout the small vineyard that surrounds the house. Five of these pathways flow up and over the structure and three of them cover and partially shade three large sections of glass that bridge between four concrete composite arch shaped segments of the building. Rainwater will be collected off of the roof and contained in storage tanks for use in and around the house.

The interior of the house is naturally illuminated during the day by the sun, which is filtered through the slatted wood panels. There is a lower and upper level that form the interior of the house. Both levels are primarily open spaces that contain cylindrical shaped modules of different sizes. These modules are symbolic of the fermentation tanks used in wineries to make wine. Most of these modules are mounted on wheels so they can be easily moved. The facilities needed to live in the house, including the wine making equipment, food preparation, baths, storage, etc. are contained inside of the modules, and can be easily accessed whenever needed.

The entire shape of the Solar Vineyard House is symbolic of the oak covered hills that usually surround the wineries in California.