Gaia Giulia Luna Arnone

I am originally from Milan, Italy where I studied Architecture at undergraduate level at Politecnico di Milano, graduating in 2017.

I have previously worked at FOA, an urban design practice and as an interior designer for Giampiero Panepinto Interior Design, both in Milan.

Upon completion of my MA at the RCA I would like to work in an interior design firm that deals with high-end hospitality and residential projects as it is the subject on which I specialized both through my thesis and during my previous work experience.

The Thesis Design Project proposes ‘Wine Drops’ - a space for a sommelier that will house a wine cellar and multi-purpose rooftop space. The project has provided an opportunity to explore how the study of wine can be enhanced and amplified through the use of structure and materials to create a place that combines educational and social activities in a sophisticated way.

Spatial Strategy

The strategy towards the alteration of the existing site involves the removal of the existing floors and excavation to create a new quadruple height volume that sits below and above the original ground level. This allows an entrance to be formed at the lower level where a new lobby space is inserted into the retaining wall. The real architectural value of the building is found in the facades so the interior walls have been lined with a dark glass skin. Vertical wine storage lines three sides of the volume and then floors connected by staircases are inserted. Lastly a glass box is placed on the rooftop.

Plans

The new entrance welcomes clients and within the lobby they can leave their coats at the reception. Upon leaving the foyer visitors find the waiting area immediately to their right where they can gaze up through the quadruple height volume where three of the walls are lined with an uninterrupted shelving system that houses a vast collection of wine. The staircases and floors ‘float’ away from the shelving system to facilitate the visual continuity.

As the visitors proceed upstairs they are surrounded by bottles, exhibits and information that communicate the history, culture, smells and ethnicity that characterize the different wines. This journey continues over three floors.

Eventually the customers reach the top of the building where they can finally put into practice what they have learned during the journey. This space, with panoramic views of London, is where the wine tasting takes place.

View of entrance — The fabric of the historic building is unaffected by new additions that form the entrance and rooftop function space. The structure of the two new elements share an approach that utilises black metal frames that are asymmetrically arranged to inform the planning of the spaces within.

View of the wine cellar — Looking down from the last floor of the wine cellar you can see how the reflective materials give light to the wooden structure and the cork flooring. It is also visible the continuity of the wine storage between all floors.

View of the rooftop — This view shows the rooftop where the wine tasting takes place. The steel structures - frame the space. Horizontally, they highlight the views on the city and create a shelving system to store the glasses. Vertically, the middle overhead frame is designed to be centered above the table. Wine has to be tasted and not drunk, this is why I designed a table with a system to collect the assayed wine.

Wine Cellar — This material palette represents the wine cellar, the black reflective metal is used for the skin and gives a feeling of greater depth to the space, the dark oak is used for the structure, cork for the flooring to muffle the sound of footsteps and enhance the feeling of silence of an underground cellar and chrome steel and leather for the details.

Rooftop — The second material palette follows the same logic but on lighter tones to highlight the fact that after a journey of study through the darkness the customer finally reaches the light rooftop and tastes wine. The hexagonal tile is made out of recycled wine bottles.

The selected materials reference the language of wine production with the use of glass, cork (the wine bottles) oak and steel (the wine barrels).

Storage — The wine is stored on a bespoke shelving system where leather straps are attached to steel cables with custom-made stainless steel fixings.

Display — Bottles are displayed in a wooden frame with polished stainless steel details within which a perforated wooden fin is inserted. The holes within the fin are lined to protect the necks o the bottles as they are inserted. This system is also used for the insertion of display elements including a digital box that reads the barcode of a selected wine bottle allowing information to be communicated. Within the display visitors can find the necessary tools to appreciate the wine.

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Gaia Giulia Luna Arnone

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Royal College of Art