The Wine Wall: From Optical Art to Functional Design

The project involved the interior design of a compact 70-square-metre pasteria that combines a shop specialising in flour-based products with a dining area accommodating 25 guests.

The completed wine wall becomes the defining visual feature of the interior, transforming wine storage into an architectural focal point.

The design brief called for a distinctive and entirely custom-made wine display. More than a conventional storage system, it was conceived as an accent wall: a decorative focal point, a memorable art object and a visual magnet capable of becoming an instantly recognisable backdrop for visitors and social-media photography.

The bespoke wine wall in its completed form, where repeated geometric elements create an illusion of depth and movement across the surface.

After exploring numerous concepts and sketches, we found our principal source of inspiration in the work of Victor Vasarely, the Hungarian-French artist and one of the leading pioneers of Op Art.[^1] His geometric compositions built around rhythm, repetition, colour and the illusion of three-dimensional depth offered an ideal visual language for transforming a functional wine rack into an immersive architectural feature.

The visual language of Victor Vasarely and Op Art provided the starting point for exploring geometry, repetition and optical illusion.

The selected composition uses principles of optical illusion to create an effect reminiscent of trompe-l’œil.[^2] Repeated geometric modules appear to expand, recede and shift across the wall, giving the otherwise flat installation a sense of depth and movement. As viewers change their position, their perception of the composition changes with them.

Rather than reproducing Vasarely’s work literally, we translated its underlying geometric principles into a functional storage system. The entire composition was recalibrated around the dimensions of a standard wine bottle, turning its visual structure into a practical framework for displaying the collection.

The rack was designed in proportion to the wall on which it would be installed. Specially dimensioned timber sections were ordered, and a full-scale prototype was assembled and tested in our studio. This process allowed us to refine the bottle spacing, determine the required depth and establish the overall scale and visual rhythm of the installation.

A close study of the composition, where rectangular timber sections gradually transition into cylindrical forms towards the centre of the installation.

Numerous colour and compositional variations were studied before we selected a restrained beige-and-khaki palette. The final scheme was conceived as a gradual transition from darker tones along the outer edges of the installation towards a significantly lighter centre. This tonal progression strengthens the illusion of depth and draws the eye towards the heart of the composition.

The geometry undergoes a similar transformation. Square timber sections, expressed as elongated rectangular prisms, gradually soften and evolve into cylindrical forms as they approach the centre. Wine bottles are positioned horizontally within the spaces formed between the projecting prisms and cylinders. In this way, storage becomes fully integrated into the optical composition rather than appearing as an element added afterwards.

Each wooden component was individually finished by one of the finest specialist woodworkers. Ash wood was used for the installation, finished with a specialist wood paint by the American brand Benjamin Moore. Carefully graduated shades create fluid transitions between adjacent tones, reinforcing the impression that the wall is expanding, contracting and changing its geometry. 

The changing geometry and tonal gradation reinforce the illusion of movement, turning the functional wine rack into a sculptural optical composition.

Once completed, the individual elements were fixed to a supporting back panel, and the entire composition was securely mounted to the wall. At its base, we incorporated a countertop frommade from authentic black tuff stone and a row of closed cabinets for accessories and other practical items that needed to remain concealed from view.

The result is both functional and sculptural: a wine-storage system transformed into a bespoke architectural installation and a defining visual signature for the entire interior.

Presented below are examples of the various colour palettes and compositional studies developed during the design process, followed by several photographs of the completed wine wall.

[^1]: Op Art, short for Optical Art, is an abstract art movement that emerged during the late 1950s and became internationally prominent in the 1960s. It uses geometric patterns, contrasting colours, repetition and carefully calculated spatial relationships to produce sensations of movement, vibration, distortion or three-dimensional depth. Its principal representatives include Victor Vasarely, Bridget Riley, Jesús Rafael Soto and Carlos Cruz-Diez. M. C. Escher was not formally an Op Art artist, although his investigations of perspective, tessellation and visual paradox strongly influenced the broader culture of optical illusion.

[^2]: Trompe-l’œil is a French expression meaning “to deceive the eye.” Traditionally, it describes a technique in which objects or architectural space are represented so convincingly that they appear real and three-dimensional. In this project, the term is used more broadly to describe the impression of depth produced on a predominantly flat surface. Strictly speaking, Vasarely’s abstract perceptual effects belong to Op Art rather than traditional figurative trompe-l’œil.