Vertical Panorama Pavilion is The Donum Estate’s newest bespoke architectural experience. The structure was designed by Berlin-based design firm Studio Other Spaces, founded by artist Olafur Eliasson and architect Sebastian Behmann. Nestled on a small hill between the Donum Home and the Spider House, the Pavilion offers an astounding panoramic view of the San Pablo Bay, the Estate vineyards and The Donum Collection.
The design of the Pavilion was envisioned by Olafur Eliasson after visiting Donum in 2019. With a shared passion for sustainability, Eliasson helped to create a holistic space that draws on the beauty of wine, art, design and architecture. With these design principles, set in California light, the Vertical Panorama Pavilion creates a sensational experience that draws on Donum’s participation in the natural world.
Inspired by the history of circular calendars, the conical canopy is centered on a northern-oriented oculus and glazed with 832 colored, laminated glass panels depicting yearly averages of the four meteorological parameters at the Estate – solar radiance, wind intensity, temperature, and humidity. The glass panels consist of 24 colors in variations of translucent and transparent hues, which resonate with the colors of the local environment in the Sonoma Valley. Vertical Panorama Pavilion is a synergy of art and architecture that manifests Studio Other Spaces' vision of designing public spaces through interdisciplinary and experimental methodologies.
Eliasson and Behmann shared, “Vertical Panorama Pavilion is a hospitable space, which celebrates the exceptional wine at Donum and the microclimates that created it. The specific design elements are abstractions of components taken from a vertical slice through the pavilion’s location on the Estate. The pavilion maps out the surrounding ephemera – the soil, vegetation, wind, sun, atmosphere, and rain – and incorporates these into the colorful canopy, reflecting the wine’s unique signature.”
Biography
Studio Other Spaces (SOS) was founded by artist Olafur Eliasson and architect Sebastian Behmann in Berlin in 2014. The studio connects architecture and art through interdisciplinary and experimental building projects and artworks for public space. Recent projects include the design of Lyst Restaurant (2019) in Vejle’s Fjordenhus; Common sky (2019–2021), a contribution to the reinvention of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York; a permanent work of art for the 15th and 16th floor of the Morland Mixité Capitale building in Paris (2015–); and the Meles Zenawi Memorial Park (2013–21) in Addis Ababa, a campus comprising five buildings, several pavilions, and a park, conceived and built with Ethiopian partners and in collaboration with Vogt Landscape Architects. The studio’s first solo exhibition, titled The Design of Collaboration, was on display at Kunst Meran Merano Arte in South Tyrol, Italy, from September 2020 through January 2021. SOS collaborated with six co-designers to present Future Assembly, a more-than-human assembly inspired by the United Nations, as part of curator Hashim Sarkis’ exhibition in the Central Pavilion, Biennale Architettura 2021.
Studio Other Spaces (SOS) was founded by artist Olafur Eliasson and architect Sebastian Behmann in Berlin in 2014. The studio connects architecture and art through interdisciplinary and experimental building projects and artworks for public space. Recent projects include the design of Lyst Restaurant (2019) in Vejle’s Fjordenhus; Common sky (2019–2021), a contribution to the reinvention of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York; a permanent work of art for the 15th and 16th floor of the Morland Mixité Capitale building in Paris (2015–); and the Meles Zenawi Memorial Park (2013–21) in Addis Ababa, a campus comprising five buildings, several pavilions, and a park, conceived and built with Ethiopian partners and in collaboration with Vogt Landscape Architects. The studio’s first solo exhibition, titled The Design of Collaboration, was on display at Kunst Meran Merano Arte in South Tyrol, Italy, from September 2020 through January 2021. SOS collaborated with six co-designers to present Future Assembly, a more-than-human assembly inspired by the United Nations, as part of curator Hashim Sarkis’ exhibition in the Central Pavilion, Biennale Architettura 2021.