We begin by observing. Before we design, we seek to understand the place and the person: the architecture, the volumes, the way people move through the space, the light, but also the collection, the owner’s habits and the way the cellar will be lived with. A wine cellar cannot be conceived independently of its surroundings. The project therefore begins long before the first drawing.
A La Sartoriale wine cellar does not begin with a piece of furniture. It begins with a place. We consider its proportions, access, technical constraints, surroundings and how the wine cellar can become part of the existing architecture. Sometimes, this analysis leads us to suggest changes to the space itself: an opening, the way people move through it, a partition, an access point or the organisation of an adjoining area. We may reshape the space before designing the wine cellar itself. The aim is not to install a wine cellar in an available space, but to find the right relationship between the cellar and the architecture that surrounds it.
We do not begin by choosing a storage system. We first seek to understand the collection: its composition, bottle formats, quantities, drinking habits, the wines intended for ageing and those the owner wishes to keep more readily at hand. The way the bottles are presented also depends on the relationship the owner has with the collection: some are meant to be seen, others easily accessible, while others are intended to be stored more discreetly. Storage is therefore never the starting point. It is the result of the thinking that begins with the collection.
A wine cellar is a technical environment. Temperature, humidity, airflow, insulation, glazing, lighting, condensate drainage and control systems must all work together. We integrate these elements from the design stage so that they become part of the project without visually taking over. The owner should be able to live with the wine cellar, open a bottle, entertain guests or simply enjoy looking at the collection without having to constantly think about how it is functioning. Technology is never an end in itself. Its purpose is to allow the client to stop having to think about it.
Bespoke design does not mean that everything a client asks for should necessarily be carried out. An idea may be appealing, yet unsuitable for the place, for wine preservation, for the way the cellar will be used or for its long-term performance. When that happens, our role is to explain why and propose another solution. We may therefore advise against a solution, suggest a different approach or decline a particular choice when we believe it would compromise the project. Our duty to advise is an integral part of our work.
Some projects confront us with situations for which no existing solution is truly suitable. An architectural constraint, a particular climate, an unusual request or a new way of presenting a collection can then become the starting point for exploration. We design, exchange ideas with the relevant specialists, adapt an existing solution or develop a new one. We do not try to fit the project into an existing solution. We seek the solution that will allow the project to exist.
A La Sartoriale wine cellar brings together different areas of expertise: interior architecture, woodworking, metal, glass, stone, lighting, refrigeration and engineering. Depending on the project, other specialists may also be involved. Our role is to bring together the expertise required and create a dialogue between these different disciplines around the same project. Each contributes its own expertise, but the decisions must remain connected so that the project retains its coherence. This is what we call the La Sartoriale ecosystem.