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Clayton & Little’s corten-steel barn powers its adjacent winery with reclaimed oil field pipes

United States Architecture News - Aug 02, 2019 - 01:05   14769 views

Clayton & Little’s corten-steel barn powers its adjacent winery with reclaimed oil field pipes

Texas-based architecture studio Clayton & Little created a simple barn that powers its adjacent winery by using reclaimed oil field pipes and weathering steel panels in its structure. 

Named Saxum Vineyard Equipment Barn, the barn is located in the Templeton Gap area of West Paso Robles, California, this simple agricultural storage structure rests at the toes of the 50 acre James Berry Vineyard.

Clayton & Little’s corten-steel barn powers its adjacent winery with reclaimed oil field pipes

Clayton & Little’s corten-steel barn powers its adjacent winery with reclaimed oil field pipes

At first sight, the structure is perceived as a classical storage place, but it empowers the adjacent winery through its special structure system, such as the reclaimed oil field pipes and weathering steels. 

Clayton & Little’s corten-steel barn powers its adjacent winery with reclaimed oil field pipes

Paso Robles is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, and it is known with its rich vineyard acres planted with wine grapes, olive groves and hillsides. The architects’ modern barn – housing also for vehicle or livestock supplies, has a sustainable feature with its solar panels to empower the Saxum Vineyard. 

Clayton & Little’s corten-steel barn powers its adjacent winery with reclaimed oil field pipes

Through its long roof – structured with reclaimed oil field pipes and a series of photovoltaic panels - offsets the electrical demand of the adjacent Saxum Winery, as well as collecting rainfall for irrigating trees and adjacent grazing meadow. 

The structure is a perfect example of how they can be sustainable for other demands as much as possible. Thanks to the barn’s roof system, it frees the winery from the grid-tied power infrastructure. 

Clayton & Little’s corten-steel barn powers its adjacent winery with reclaimed oil field pipes

"The photovoltaic system is designed to produce roughly 87,000 kWh per year, taking Saxum Winery and the vineyard irrigation wells off-grid," said the studio in its project description.

Clayton & Little’s corten-steel barn powers its adjacent winery with reclaimed oil field pipes

Corten steel panels, protecting the equipments inside from the sun, wrap the façade of the structure. The barn’s unique purpose is combined with a special and sustainable feature with a simple aesthetic. 

Clayton & Little’s Saxum Vineyard Equipment Barn won the AIA San Antonio, Merit Award in 2018, Design Award by Texas Society of Architects in 2019 and Small Projects Award by the AIA National in 2019. 

Clayton & Little’s corten-steel barn powers its adjacent winery with reclaimed oil field pipes

Clayton & Little’s corten-steel barn powers its adjacent winery with reclaimed oil field pipes

Clayton & Little’s corten-steel barn powers its adjacent winery with reclaimed oil field pipes

Clayton & Little is an interdisciplinary design firm known for creating layered, coherent experiences by filtering context and intent to summon the richness of place. 

The firm - led by partners Paul Clayton, Brian Korte, Sam Manning and Nathan Quiring - was established its Austin in 2005. In 2015, the firm expanded from Austin to San Antonio after completing several high-profile projects in the Alamo City. 

Project facts

Architecture: Clayton & Little
General Contractor: Rarig Construction
Structural Engineer: SSG Structural Engineers
Lighting Design: Clayton & Little
Solar Basis of Design: Pacific Energy Company

All images © Casey Dunn

> via Clayton & Little