Winery-Amphitheater Breathes New Life Into Czech Countryside

A unique combination of a winemaking facility, visitor center, tasting room, and rooftop amphitheater will soon emerge in the Czech countryside. It will marry the traditional and modern, nature and technology, organic and man-made, all in one place.

Czech architecture company CHYBIK + KRISTOF began the construction of the Lahofer Winery in Dobšice, a countryside town in the Czech Republic. Expected to be completed in spring 2020, the winery is an original combination of facilities which are meant to interact with the surrounding and be coherently incorporated in the natural environment.

The winery building consists of three structures varying in height and connected with one overarching roof. The wavy roofs serves as an amphitheater and can host cultural events for visitors and locals to enjoy. The structure makes direct connection to the landscape of the Moravian countryside, where it is located, as the building’s organic shape is meant to avoid heavily impacting the landscape.

The interior of Lahofer Winery also mimics the natural environment around. Its inclines reflect the slopes of the countryside and the arches align with the grapevine rows outside to create a symmetrical coherence between nature and the built environment. The building is equipped with numerous huge windows, creating a feeling of openness and bringing light into the winery. Some of the structural elements of the structure are visible in a ‘raw’ state on the inside. The natural shapes bring the viewer’s eye towards the outside vines and landscape.

This innovative idea and facility is following a movement of building, not only in, but also with the surrounding environment. Similarly to this craft beer brewery which is creating life in the shrinking Japanese countryside, this Czech winery combines modern style with a traditional craft, creating a hot-spot in an area that might otherwise not have attracted many people.