Echoing the surrounding ecosystem
Nestled in Doña Reka, a small rural village southwest of Zagreb, Croatia, Tomac Winery reflects a deep connection between architecture, landscape, and local tradition. Home to only 300 residents, the village is one of Croatia’s four major wine-producing regions, where generations of families have grown grapes and made wine in harmony with nature. The Tomac family has continued this tradition for over 70 years, practicing biodynamic viticulture—eschewing synthetic fertilizers and herbicides, and aligning their work with the lunar calendar and soil ecology.
This philosophy extends beyond farming to the architecture of their new winery, completed in 2022. Rather than imposing a form, the design quietly emerges from the materials, proportions, and rhythms of its surroundings. Built not to stand out but to belong, the structure was conceived to blend seamlessly with existing farm buildings, emphasizing a natural order over visual dominance.
The winery is composed of three distinct zones: a subterranean cellar, a ground-floor fermentation space, and a timber attic used for drying. Each level is constructed from a different material—exposed concrete, clay brick, wood, and straw—that reflects its specific function and is left raw and unprocessed. These elements—smooth concrete, textured brick, warm timber, and rough straw—evoke the tactile memory of vernacular Croatian farmhouses while forming a modern architectural language.
The underground level, L-shaped in plan, connects to the family’s original cellar, with a circular chamber at its core for bottle storage. The ground level, a simple brick enclosure, houses large oak barrels for fermentation and aging. The bricks serve a dual purpose: structural and thermal, supporting the natural temperature control required for fermenting grapes in traditional earthenware vessels called qvevri. Above, the wooden attic allows natural ventilation for drying grapes, its robust beams recalling the open barns of local heritage. Hidden beneath the thatched roof is a rooftop garden where herbs and plants used in biodynamic farming are cultivated.
Tomac Winery is more than a place of production—it is a living structure embedded in the regional ecosystem. Positioned gently among forests, vineyards, and open fields, it avoids artificial boundaries, allowing flora and fauna to inhabit the site freely.
The materials themselves are not simply construction elements; they are chosen for their capacity to age with dignity. Time leaves its mark, and those changes are embraced as part of the architectural narrative.
Can architecture behave like nature? At Tomac Winery, the answer is quietly affirmative. It is a space where farming philosophy, material truth, and ecological sensitivity are fused, slowly maturing, like the wine it shelters.
Project: TOMAC WINERY / Location: Donja Reka, Jastrebarsko, Croatia / Architect(s): TOMISLAV ĆURKOVIĆ, ZORAN ZIDARIĆ, DVA ARHITEKTA / Design team: TOMISLAV ĆURKOVIĆ, MARKO GALIĆ, BARBARA VUKOVIĆ / Structural engineer: TODING / Mechanical engineer: EKSPERTERM / Electrical engineer: ELEKTROPLAN / Hydro installation engineer: BOBANAC / Building physics: FORMIKA / Main constructor: TEHMONT / Gross floor area: 603m² / Completion: 2024 / Photograph: ©Sandro Lendler (courtesy of the architect)
