Frank Gehry has done it again, this time for La Rioja, building a 42 million euro Bilbao Guggenheim look-a-like for Spanish wine producer Marques de Riscal.
Vast purple and silver titanium wings shield the interior from the sun, hiding a 5 star hotel and wine spa (apparently you bathe in the stuff that gave you the hangover that sent you to the spa in the first place…) At anywhere between 300 and 1200 Euros a room, most of us will have to be content with seeing the complex from outside, or, that failing, on low quality youtube videos. So what do you think, a blot on the landscape, or genius contrast of old Spain and the new? More info over at Expatica.com.
celia stevenson
16 Sep 06 at 12:56 pm
I think that the new Gehry-designed winery is impressive and bold (I would expect nothing less!).
Perhaps Rioja is about to become the new Bilbao!
I am not sure about the wine spa,though.What a terrible waste of good wine!
I also like Santiago Calatrava’s new construction,also in Rioja.One could argue that it blends into the landscape a bit more.
http://www.arcspace.com/architects/calatrava/wine/
What a shame Gaudi didn’t design a Bodega!