Landscape Quality in Farmyard Design: An Approach for Italian Wine Farms

This study addresses the issue of landscape quality in farmyard design for farm wineries. Tourist and marketing strategies have been increasingly emphasising the relationships between landscape and typical products through the farmyard image. However, ordinary farms often lack accurate design research, due to economic constraints and cultural issues. The study aims at defining the main variables that should be considered in designing outdoor spaces of small and medium-sized wine farms, based on a contemporary interpretation of the hortus topos. It allows us to consider the farmyard as a transition space between architecture (farm buildings) and cultivated land, combining functional and aesthetic values. Landscape, composition and architectural characters of various design solutions, as well as the main requirements and critical issues related to farmyard design have been analysed on a representative sample of farms, with reference to an Italian study area. Moreover, useful design references were obtained from the analyses developed.