VIK Winery
PTFE Fiberglass Membrane Used for the Outer and Liner Membrane Roof of a Chilean Winery
Fabric Type: PTFE Fiberglass
Market Sector: Commercial
Project Size: 114,000 sq.ft.
Architect: Smiljan Radic
Owner: VIK Winery
Completion Date: July 20, 2013
Smiljan Radić uses an intricate tensile membrane construction to shelter the VIK Winery which nestles in the foothills of the Chilean Andes
Even in the benign climate of Millahue, 100 miles south-west of Santiago, roof design requires a disciplined approach, especially in the case of tensile membrane construction and even more so where the quality of building form, as well as performance, is top priority. On one level, architect Smiljan Radić’s VIK Winery is a work of art, like his coterminous 2014 Serpentine Pavilion. The way it relates to its heroic Sub-Andean context, through the controlled choice of forms and materials, is central to this artistic vision. But with its tensile membrane construction, the form of the winery’s roof could have undermined this order.
Birdair designed and executed the structural steel and membrane roofing system.The roof comprises inner and outer skins spanning between the top and bottom members of lenticular trusses. Both are PTFE membranes, but the inner skin is lighter, with a different make-up of warp and fill reinforcement, lower breakage strength and trapezoidal tear resistance.
The winery is not a heavily serviced building, and it relies on the 73 per cent nominal solar reflectance of its PTFE outer membrane to avoid excessive overheating.
