Revealing the Joy of Place

The design of Sterling winery in Napa Valley became a fantastic opportunity. The assignment was to design an industrial facility for the production of wine at the bottom of the valley. After researching the valley’s dramatic history, natural beauty, and pioneering spirit, an idea came to me. What if the architecture provides more to people? We can introduce the winery’s visitors to the magnificent views of Napa Valley through the design of the facility. Conventional thinking favored placing the industrial building on flat land, but the hillside revealed glorious views. I began to imagine the winery as a natural extension of the knoll.

The question was how to communicate such an unconventional idea to my client in the simplest possible way? So, I created a clay model that transformed the vision into a great possibility.

My client, Peter Newton, immediately understood the concept of placing the visitor’s experience at the center of the design. As the hill was too steep to accommodate the tourist traffic, an aerial tramway was installed to transport guests to the top.

I did not know at the time that the hill top architecture was familiar to Peter as he had spent time in Europe on the Greek islands. Inspired, he imported centuries-old church bells from London. Their sounds ring through the valley.

The winery opened in 1973, giving thousands of visitors the chance to admire the extraordinary landscape of Napa Valley. It became a favorite destination for visitors. What began as the design of an industrial facility became a place where architecture, landscape, and human experience came together. Architecture contributed both to the local economy and to the quality of life. The winery became the valley’s landmark.

The idea was simple: Place the human experience at the center.

From that idea came the winery, a journey up the hillside, magnificent views, the sound of bells across the valley, and …….JOY

People and Places inspire Architecture.

Architecture Creates Places

Places inspire Life

This project demonstrates that our work as architects is never only about solving the assigned program. We need to look beyond the immediate assigned problem and ask:

What else can this place give to people’s lives?

This has become the seed that produced beautiful places throughout our entire practice.

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