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Winery Kozlovic is located in the peninsula of Istria – Croatia, 5km from the Adriatic coast, at the foot of a hill with the medieval hamlet of Momjan on the top. The winery with cellar has a total surface of 2000 sq. m, spread across several levels. It was finished and opened in spring 2013.
The rectangular, clean cut building rises up from the middle of vineyards yet is almost invisible. The façade is made from sandblasted aluminium plates, with a thickness of 10mm, created in the image of a stylised vine-like installation. The flat roof is used as a horticultural installation, planted with lavender bushes and flowers which are maintained by a gardener. The space is organised on several levels, for both functional and practical reasons, and is fully hidden from sight, placed behind the hill using the naturally steep configuration of the ground. Additionally, the winery respects energy saving rules: outer walls are cooled by plants, as is the roof. Inside the winery, with tasting room and bar, the main materials are oak and concrete.
Glass and steel materials were used in the outer construction, with wooden details at the entrance that aim to combine family tradition with modern aesthetics, submerging the building into its surroundings and blending its colours and shapes with the landscape. It is a space with economical and commercial value but was also designed in keeping with the spirit of its residents who have lived with wine production in their family for four generations now.
Winery Kozlovic is one of the largest and most internationally famed Croatian wineries. Given the fact that it is a family business, it was important to keep and remember the past by showing respect for its ancestors. This is evident through installations in the interior: the wooden board cut in the shape of the owner’s father dominates the stairways and large black and white photos of the hands, faces and barrels of previous generations decorate the walls of the barrique cellar.
A summer terrace stretching above the vineyards is equipped with specially designed benches. Given the glass fence, one has a sensation of sitting in the middle of vines, surrounded by nature and being a part of it. The message that the winery sends out by its design and architecture relates to the communication between landscape and nature, modernity and tradition; united with high utility features and up-to-date vinification technology.
Interior design, façades and art elements in the interior and exterior were designed by Fabrika, a studio from Istria.