About 25 kilometres from Beijing, not far from the city of Jun Zhuang, a municipality dedicated to the world of wine (production and tasting), covering an area of about 8 square kilometres, represents both an industrial and commercial satellite town of Beijing and a local tourist attraction due to its natural sceneries. The international competition won by Archea has centred on respect and development of the territory; the master plan submitted by the firm involves about 850 small and medium-sized companies scattered across an area characterized by a valley and an artificial lake surrounded by promontories. The human interventions in the area may be classified according to three types of territory: the valley bottom, the winding terraced hillsides and the mountains, home to small residential villages with buildings organized according to the traditional Chinese system with buildings arranged around a central court.
From the large entrance area to the system of production facilities and dwellings one enters the complex, which features three types of wineries, boutique wineries and club wineries, large and medium size enterprises dedicated to production and promotion, and the smaller private wineries that also offer luxury residences. Together with the wineries proper there are accessory buildings with accommodations, offices, cafes and shops, connected by a studied and articulated infrastructural network. But the main protagonist of the area remains the cultivations: the whole project centres on the green areas. The territory is organized to form a web based on the triangle, which combines its geometric linearity with its symbolic significance as connection between earth and sky, forming a pattern of different vineyards that give each valley a characteristic colour and perfume. Eco-sustainable design choices organize and guide both the use of the land and the buildings, which obtain the energy and the means of guaranteeing the temperature and humidity necessary for making and storing wine exclusively from the ground.
Agriculture, industry and culture therefore merge in this original area aimed at rural recreation, which faces the challenge of creating new wineries that are not merely anonymous industrial sites, but also fascinating spaces that blend with the landscape.