15th November 2010
Good Things Come In Glass
Most technology park warehouses are lost in featureless anonymity. In contrast, RWG’s Port Melbourne headquarters responds to its waterfront setting with a suitably extroverted turn of form. Architect Robert Conti has achieved light flow, high visibility and quality energy management.
The Project
The new building houses RWG, one of Australia’s major family owned wine companies, with interests including: Yering Station in the Yarra Valley, Mt Langi Ghiran near Ararat, Parker Estate in Coonawarra as well as Xanadu in Margaret River. The 11,500 sqm Port Melbourne facility centralizes RWG’s administration activities and contains the bottling line and over 7,000 sqm of temperature controlled warehouse. The building design required very stable internal temperatures while avoiding the appearance of an over-sized cool-room. The project was also looking to maximize views, providing a livelier, lovelier work environment and an enhanced retail experience.
Emphasis on Sustainability
The warehouse is air-conditioned at a constant 14 degrees Celsius, regarded as an ideal temperature for wine storage, and as a result there was a strong focus on sustainability and minimizing ongoing overheads and running costs. Sustainability and environmental considerations carried into almost every part of the project. "What is interesting is the liberating potential of the new generation of glazing. Viridian’s double glazed Low E glass units really meet and exceed so many of the criteria needed to perform credibly and assist with sustainability," says Architect Robert Conti.
Glass was used in the warehouse lunchroom, change-rooms, and kitchen areas and is extrapolated from the internalized domain of the warehouse to allow staff to observe the wider world. Colour-backed glass was used in the external wall treatment and continuous bands to maintain the architectural treatment where there are columns, walls or toilets behind the glass. The colours were influenced by the product – principally red wine. The catchphrase ‘Good Things Come in Glass’ sums up this project.
More detail on the RWG project can be found on the Viridian website under our cases section. Let us know how you are using performance glass in your development project ...
The Project
The new building houses RWG, one of Australia’s major family owned wine companies, with interests including: Yering Station in the Yarra Valley, Mt Langi Ghiran near Ararat, Parker Estate in Coonawarra as well as Xanadu in Margaret River. The 11,500 sqm Port Melbourne facility centralizes RWG’s administration activities and contains the bottling line and over 7,000 sqm of temperature controlled warehouse. The building design required very stable internal temperatures while avoiding the appearance of an over-sized cool-room. The project was also looking to maximize views, providing a livelier, lovelier work environment and an enhanced retail experience.
Emphasis on Sustainability
The warehouse is air-conditioned at a constant 14 degrees Celsius, regarded as an ideal temperature for wine storage, and as a result there was a strong focus on sustainability and minimizing ongoing overheads and running costs. Sustainability and environmental considerations carried into almost every part of the project. "What is interesting is the liberating potential of the new generation of glazing. Viridian’s double glazed Low E glass units really meet and exceed so many of the criteria needed to perform credibly and assist with sustainability," says Architect Robert Conti.
Glass was used in the warehouse lunchroom, change-rooms, and kitchen areas and is extrapolated from the internalized domain of the warehouse to allow staff to observe the wider world. Colour-backed glass was used in the external wall treatment and continuous bands to maintain the architectural treatment where there are columns, walls or toilets behind the glass. The colours were influenced by the product – principally red wine. The catchphrase ‘Good Things Come in Glass’ sums up this project.
More detail on the RWG project can be found on the Viridian website under our cases section. Let us know how you are using performance glass in your development project ...