Adelaide-based architecture studio Intro Architecture has designed a twisted tower for the Oscar Seppeltsfield hotel on the Barossa valley vineyards in South Australia.

Named Seppeltsfield Tourist Accommodation, the hotel will have 12 stories and accommodate 70 rooms, penthouses to offer amazing views towards the vineyards.

The design takes its form from the art of barrel-making, particularly the process of the curvature and manipulation of the stave. "When Architecture connects emotionally with its’ owners it becomes an emotive form of art, as with all art it is closely followed by personal subjectivity," said the architects.

"The approach to design was to understand and capture what makes Seppeltsfield Wines and the wider Barossa Region such a unique and beautiful part of South Australia."

The architects tried to understand the essense of a making of Seppeltsfield Wines and the wider Barossa Region, so they wanted to reflect that process in a new iconic tower. 

As the team highlights, the design philosophy was born watching the experienced craftsmen wield their tools, as they contort and convex each timber stave into an iconic, recognisable form – the Barrel. 

"This icon represents the many facets and complexities of the Seppeltsfield history," they added. Oscar grows from the vineyard, its staves emerging then twisting to create the unique built form.

The $50m tower is designed as highly expressive and contemporary design as possible to sit within it organic setting. Without the stave, there is no Barrel and without Oscar Seppelt, and now Warren Randall to continue his legacy, there is no Seppeltsfield. 

The architects said: "These two influencers have taken the prevailing village and augmented such for the benefit of theirs and the next generation."

"Oscar will be a global icon of 6 star luxury – a generational piece of architecture which will catalyse conversations for decades that come."

The hotel is expected to receive its first guests in 2022. 

All images courtesy of Intro Architecture

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