The design of the winery is inspired by the close relationship between winemaking and the ground where the grapes grow. The soil impacts the taste of the wine. In a sense the soil is embedded in every glass. Similarly, the architecture and gardens of the Novelty Hill • Januik Winery engage the ground of the site, rather than hovering above it. Furthermore, the design aims to entangle the building and garden, blurring the edge between architecture and landscape, such as when the concrete walls of the building move out into garden, holding up the ground and defining rooms outside.

In this place, architecture and nature enhance and elevate each other. This is perhaps best captured when the shadows of the existing big leaf maple, which marks the entrance to the site, are cast against the building’s concrete walls. Here, the formal and spare qualities of the concrete walls are softened and given a new dimension through the projection of natural forms against their surface. In this moment, the walls amount to more because of the shadow of the tree, and the tree’s presence expands because it has a smooth surface to touch.