What do you build for the client who has everything? A 2,500-bottle wine silo with a covered roof deck for sipping and sunset watching should suffice. “The silo goes with the other agricultural forms we’d designed on [the clients’] compound,” says architect Eric Logan. Plus, the property lies in Wyoming’s Snake River floodplain, so underground storage was impossible.
Oxidized steel panels on the exterior will rust and patina into shades of reds and browns that will blend into the wide-open spaces around it. The reclaimed fir interior-in-the-round conjures an aging cask. Vertical fins provide support for the spiral staircase, an upper landing, the roof deck, and custom wine racks. Steel accents along with the wine bottles and stemware add sparkle. Sandwiched between steel and fir are lightweight concrete and rebar walls insulated with 10-inch-thick foam. “We basically built a giant cooler,” says Logan, “then suspended the steel panels as a skin.” Builder: Bontecou Construction, Jackson, Wyo.; Architect: Carney Architects, Jackson; Structural engineer: KL+A, Golden, Colo.; Mechanical engineer: CN Engineers, Jackson; Millwork: Spearhead Timberworks, Canada; Lighting: Dave Nelson & Associates, Boulder, Colo.; Design team and photographer: Jeff Lawrence, Carney Architects.
