Can a hybrid space be simultaneously urban and productive? The answer is yes, if we are capable of rethinking the balance between production,
if we are capable of rethinking the balance between production, landscape and urban life. The proposed strategy abandons the notion of the mono-function in favour of the concept of the Multi-Mix: a district of multifunctional buildings that can be experienced by multiple citizens at different times of the day. A hub where social, physical and visual connections link spaces and new functions to enable interaction between countryside and city centre. The urban landscape is currently characterised by a new, ecological and sustainable “cathedral of production” surrounded by the daily life of the NSC district that overcomes existing limits and expands into the surrounding city. The building is a new landmark situated in an area not far from the historical centre, a hinge between the consolidated city and the area of expansion. The new “cathedral” is home to a wine making cooperative that promotes and further develops the local wine making economy in the Alsatian region. The centre provides a new point of encounter between research and production. The roof of the winery reinterprets the characteristic serial motif of industrial sheds.
By slowing stepping down toward the terrain, part of the roof can be accessed directly from a public space whose rhythm is defined by rows of vines used to train future winemakers at the nearby wine academy. The urban heart of the project is the large square plaza conceived to redesign the space between the two warehouses, both restored and newly constructed.
The new quarter is also based on processes of recycling the by-products of winemaking: each type of product, once considered “waste”, is reutilised in a dedicated facility, from papermaking to natural cosmetics.
