Off-Grid Wine Pavilion

Situated on a natural grass-covered hill—too steep for grape cultivation but offering sweeping vistas of vineyard, lake, and mountain—a boutique winery commissioned an off-grid, seasonal tasting pavilion designed to heighten the sensory experience of wine in place.

The brief called for a structure that was both minimal in scale and modular in nature, allowing for efficient assembly in a remote location devoid of conventional infrastructure. With no access to water or power, the pavilion was conceived as a fully self-sufficient environment.

Architecturally, the horizontal floor and roof planes frame and accentuate the land, lake, and mountain horizons while offering plenty of protection from the intense summer sun. Nestled into the ground, a rammed earth volume discreetly houses the functional core: washrooms, a prep kitchen, wine storage, water treatment systems, and off-grid power generation. This earth-sheltered 'back of house' employs passive cooling and thermal massing, grounding the experience in both environmental stewardship and architectural restraint.

Project Info

Type: Wine Tasting Prototype
Location: South Okanagan, British Columbia
Year: 2025