Scott Edwards Architecture collaborates with Alt Wine Fest on installation

Author
Bob Carbaugh

Scott Edwards Architecture collaborated with Oregon’s Alt Wine Fest in Willamette Valley on a wine-and-music inspired temporary installation for their 2023 festival at Abbey Road Farm. The event founders sought to create a one-of-a-kind immersive experience for their attendees that reflected the eclectic mix of the wines represented at the festival.

Alt Wine Fest began in 2019, creating a platform for showcasing non-Pinot Noir grape varietals grown in Oregon. The festival gives a voice to veteran wineries alongside up-and-coming wine producers in the region and features the bountiful potential and diversity of Oregon’s wine industry. Attendees come together to learn about, sample, and celebrate the full range of non-Pinot wines that Oregon has to offer.

SEA has deep roots in the design of wineries, tasting rooms, breweries, and other craft beverage spaces on the west coast. Our approach taps into our client’s passion for their craft and reverence for its production—both the steps taken to produce it and the connection to the land that makes it possible. We understand that these spaces should be experiential in nature, pulling guests into the process, and we use architecture as a means to make them destinations.

Dubbed “Oregon’s other wine fest,” the Alt Wine Fest is a celebration of the state’s non-Pinot wine industry and organized by Sunday School Wine.

A Zero Waste Installation

The installation blends inspiration from the wine industry and the music industry – channeling and elevating common materials like wine boxes, lighting rigging, and concert flyers to celebrate the mold-breaking creative spirit of the Oregon wineries and winemakers represented at Alt Wine Fest.

The entrance installation was built from 200+ repurposed wine boxes salvaged from the local Oregon wineries and wine shops recycling stream. The boxes were bound together and given new life as a building material for the installation.

The pop-up grid served as a flexible display and storage system for merchandise, signage, personal belongings, and swag from the event. Attendees and winemakers alike were encouraged to tag the installation with markers, wine labels, and stickers. At the end of the festival, the boxes were placed back into the recycling stream resulting in zero waste.