Almazara Olisur

©Cristobal Palma

©Cristobal Palma

 Architect: Guillermo Hevia H.
 Collaborators: Tomás Villalón A., Francisco Carrión G.,Guillermo Hevia García y Marcela Suazo M.
Owner: Olisur S.A.
Main Contractor: Pitágora S.A.
Domestic Water and Sewage System: Atika S.A.
Lighting Design: Opendark S.A.
Bioclimatization: BIOTECH Chile Consultores Ltda.
Production: Jaime Gálvez y Tomás Eguiguren
Materials :Laminated wood, plywood panels, fiber cement panels, reinforced concrete and glass 
Exterior siding: Pizarreño S.A.
Structure and wood paneling: Arauco S.A.
Site Area: 5 hec (oil press) / 1,200 hec (plantations)
 GFA : 2.800 m2
Location : Fundo San José de Marchigüe, comuna La Estrella, VI Región
Construction Completion Date: 2008
Photographs: Cristóbal Palma y Guillermo Hevia

A simple and categorical architectural volume that allegorically reinterprets the anonymous architectures of the dry coastal fields of the VI Region Central Valley, resting on the smooth wooded hills, subtly appearing with its wooden façades and colors that shine with the brightness of the place. The body reflects the landscape’s horizontal condition and its geography, and the plantation lines of the olive trees are projected on its frontal façades. Sustainable technology is used to create a favorable environment for work and for the production of quality olive oil.

A project of such nature was a real challenge as it required the adding of value to a production process through architecture. At the same time, it was an opportunity to research into the simple materials and technologies that would make the building a harmonious dialogue between nature, production and corporate image, and also to incorporate the use of bioclimatic technologies to protect the environment, to save energy and to provide quality of life in the different processes; in other words, to try to create a responsible architecture.

The result is an agro-industrial building that reinterprets the anonymous architecture of the Central Valley of Chile. It is placed on a geography made up of smooth, dry coastal hills, where the natural landscape is lost in a diaphanous horizontal condition, outlined by the olive green waves of the big plantations.

The oil press blends into the place through its shape and colors, in such a way that the architecture seems to be naturally born. The lines of the olive plantation are projected on the building, vertically extending on the façades, and blurring the borders between the constructed work and the landscape which contains it. There is harmony in the dialogue of shapes, light, color and landscape.

Color and material constitution bring total harmony to the work. The architecture is strengthened by the formal and chromatic balance, proving that an abstract idea can be materialized with delicate subtlety.

Architecture is an opportunity to do much with few elements. The materials are handled in a simple way, with straight and angular shapes, preserving the colors of the wood, the soil, and the sparse flora –components that accentuate the simplicity and the natural character of the completed work.

The new Oil Press of Olisur, 230 kilometers southeast of Santiago, in San José de Marchigüe (La Estrella, VI Region), has been placed at the forefront of oil press architecture globally with its use of bioclimatic technologies in the buildings (geothermal, wind, lighting) and in the production processes. This represents a real commitment to sustainability, energy savings, quality of life and environmental protection.

Architecture is the protagonist that accomplishes these objectives. The simple shapes of the main enclosed volume, complemented by a smaller body of wood and glass that houses the offices and services, portray a symbolic image of the place through a simple and categorical architectural discourse. The emphasis is on representing nature with its colors and light. The lighting of the façades and (transparent) office enclosures come alive with shades of light and shadows, as if born from the wooded surroundings of the gentle hills and the geography of the place.

The architecture of this longitudinal volume is responsive to the linear production process and is staggered at different levels (internal terraces) for the use of a gravitational system and to architecturally acknowledge the terrain’s slope.
Concepts: Tradition, Nature, Technology, Sustainability and Quality of Life.

Ecological characteristics
Geothermal technology in the production and storage of the oil (buckets), ventilated façade systems in the buildings, passive energy to ventilate the different offices and service areas (cross ventilation in the false ceilings), cooling of glass façades via evaporation from the water pool in front of the administration building, and umbra and radiation studies to define the eaves according to the requirements in the different seasons. The main building uses skylights as natural day lighting. The material constitution of the industrial complex is all biodegradable.