How to describe the place where the best craft beer in the world comes from? This question that is with us today will always be in the mind of anyone who tastes a sip of Wäls.

We need to reveal passion and technology.

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Everything was organized, clean and professional, working in a harmonious rhythm. And immersed in an atmosphere of enthusiasm and affection and integration: the love of the well done.

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Home of discoveries, invention, the pursuit of perfection and the celebration of the senses. The architecture then is clear, direct and surprising.

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A single form – cohesion – lands on the “high land where the sun is first seen”. It pays homage to light, water, the alchemy of mixing malt and hops.

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The pure square moves to generate the ladder and houses the shed of cylinders where the magic takes place.

The space destined for the factory is delimited by the Wäls brand in the entrance garden. The large shed is divided into two sectors, one for storage and the other for production. To house the tanks of up to 20,000l, a skylight forms a ceiling height of 12m, bringing light and ventilation to the building.

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Attached to the tank area is the hall, divided only by glass, allowing the public to follow the beer production. The lounge is divided into a shop and a bar/restaurant, as well as a kitchen for preparing dishes. At the front, a large cantilevered porch overlooks a forest in the lower part of the plot.

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At the end of the single block, the building resumes the connection with the ground through a cone that touches the water surface at the level of the esplanade, a large multipurpose open space.

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On this level is the basement, with about 300m². Its position, behind a slope, helps to maintain the temperature for beer fermentation. This tunnel is connected to the factory by a ladder and a freight elevator. This connection is necessary for the functioning of the factory and allows the complete circuit of the guided tours.

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The entire support area for the factory, as well as the functioning of the hall, is located at the rear of the building. Along the entry way, large doors and a dock allow loading and unloading.

On the rear facade, an annex houses the office activities and support for employees. At this point, the zenith cover closes and shelters, in a courtyard, the large ethanol and water reservoirs.

 

Cheers and Wäls!

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Architecture

Gustavo Penna, Norberto Bambozzi, Laura Penna, Michelle Moura, Catarina Hermanny, Alice Leite Flores, Fernanda Tolentino, Naiara Costa, Oded Stahl, patrícia Gonçalves, Carolina Castro, Henrique Neves, Isadora Dawson, Raquel de Resende, Fernando Artigas, Eduardo Magalhães, Ivan Rimsa, Paula Salum,  Gabriel Moura, Hugo Leite, Júlia Salgado, Letícia Lanza, Raquel Moura.

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Management and Planning

Rísia Botrel, Isabela Tolentino, Taimara Araújo

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Place

Araxá – Minas Gerais – Brazil

 

Technical Data
Year of the project: 2014
Built area: 4,750m²

Images
Digital House