The project explores the architectural potential for translucency in revealing sufficient depth to spark the imagination, whilst occupying a devious territory of concealment and trickery.

This theme is explored programmatically through a boutique winery situated on one of Porto’s signature, steep hills adjacent to the Douro River. Central to the vision for the building is the intersection between the private, industrial side of a wine making facility and the hospitality areas for wine tasting events, plus the representative function of the object itself. Primarily, the building acts as headquarters for the titular organisation 'Instituto dos Vinhos'.

The boundaries of public and private areas are divided through layers of translucent and transparent membranes of varying volume, concealing workers within the shroud of privacy and yet revealing just enough to invoke the curiosity of visitors. Interior spaces of the Instituto combine industrial functionality with ambiguous elegance which emerges from experimentation with the properties of translucent materials. During the day, the surfaces of this proposal bask in Portuguese sunlight, allowing natural daylight to reach areas of industrial production. After sunset, light from within the winery illuminates acts of inhabitation, revealing itself in a form of natural projections to be witnessed by bystanders.