JILIAN SPROUL
12 Martin Road Estate Winery
Aperture

In the heart of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario’s wine country, Martin Road estate provides a complementing landscape to the wine making process. ‘Aperture’ proposes a gravitational wine production winery, allowing one to experience the full harmonious wine making process. With inspiration taken from the surrounding landscapes void in the surrounding tree density in the North end of the site, ‘Aperture’ plays on the idea of solid and void throughout the building creating effects on one’s visual senses. Upon entering the building guests are greeted with a large glass lobby area placing focus on the axis to the opening in the tree landscape.

Once inside, interior voids express concentrated views to the exterior and visual transparency to the adjacent production allowing visitors to understand the process and observe all primary processing steps simultaneously. Running east west across the building, a large sky lit hallway acts as an interior void to the tall solid walls. This creates moments of views running perpendicular to the skylight down the corridor connecting the landscape to the interior. These interior and exterior voids allow transparency through program, views and circulation all while providing sustainable lighting techniques. Thus, making the contrast from solid to void evident in one’s procession throughout the building allowing connections to the opening in the landscape to be apparent.