If you were driving through the remote Guadalupe Valley in Baja, you might mistake it for an ancient, dried-up port town: A cavalcade of overturned boats scattered across the desert like whale skeletons. In fact, this is Vena Cava Winery, and those old boats house its production facilities.


The project was designed by Alejandro D'Acosta and Claudia Turrent, a husband & wife architecture team, based locally in Baja, who are known for their inventive approach to reuse, which includes everything from rammed earth to reclaimed trash. At Vena Cava, the duo salvaged a handful of discarded boats from a nearby port and turned them into vaulted ceilings for the winery's essential functions.

Since boat hulls are already water-tight and weather-tested, it makes perfect sense that they'd make perfect roofs. It's an incredible effect, aesthetically, especially from inside the structures:


Smaller boats serve as rooftops for vestibules and entrances, and salvaged wood makes up the buildings' siding:




It's a pretty incredible project—and it proves that "sustainable" architecture doesn't all have to look a particular way. You can check out more of their work in this LA Times profile, or head over to Vena Cava's website. [designboom]