A historic barn built in 1937 now serves as the centerpiece of a working farmstead winery in Oregon’s Chehalem Creek Valley, where Sequitur Winery by Observation Studio has been named a finalist for the 8th annual GRAY Awards in the Hospitality Design category. The project transformed a former dairy operation outside Newberg into a facility that blends wine production with animal husbandry, crop farming, and guest hospitality on a single property.
A Farm at the Crossroads of Agriculture and Design
The Etzel Farm sits where loamy wetland meadows meet forested hillsides, in a stretch of Oregon countryside widely regarded as prime territory for pinot noir cultivation. The land has supported multiple generations of winemakers, and the current owners sought to honor that legacy while expanding the farm’s working functions. The restoration of the original Douglas Fir and Cedar barn became the anchor for this effort, giving the structure a new purpose without erasing its history.
The barn’s original timber frame remains intact, now supporting modern winemaking operations alongside spaces for entertaining and tasting. New construction on the property mirrors this approach, with buildings erected using trees harvested and milled on site. The result is a collection of structures that feel rooted in their setting rather than imposed upon it.
Inside the Tasting Experience
A dedicated tasting room sits at the property’s center, designed to connect visitors with the surrounding working farm. Multiple window seats face the settings beyond, allowing guests to observe daily operations while sampling wines. The interior uses reclaimed wood throughout—floors, walls, and ceilings finished with materials salvaged from deconstructed outbuildings already on the farm.
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The warm, intimate setting contrasts with the natural activity of a functioning agricultural operation. Rather than isolating the tasting experience from the farm, the design incorporates the sounds and rhythms of wine production and crop harvesting into the atmosphere. Visitors can hear the hum of activity without being removed from it.
The conversion of existing structures extends to functional elements throughout the property. An old terra-cotta block milk shed now houses restrooms, while a concrete stave grain silo was adapted to serve as an egress stair. These transformations kept materials in circulation rather than sending them to landfill, maintaining a chain of resourcefulness that the architects describe as central to their philosophy.
For guests unfamiliar with the mechanics of a working vineyard, the layout offers informal education without formal programming. Watching the seasonal cycles of the farm from a window seat provides context that a tasting note cannot, though the experience remains primarily oriented toward enjoyment rather than instruction.
Sustainability Built Into the Bones
Observation Studio, the Portland-based firm behind the design, has received recognition including placement in Architectural Record’s Design Vanguard program and multiple AIA awards. The firm’s approach emphasizes material authenticity and responsiveness to site, principles clearly applied in the Etzel Farm project. Buildings on the property function as extensions of the agricultural operation rather than separate entities.
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The design team included Brent Linden, Christopher Brown, Dillon Phillips, Jared Abraham, and Hutch, with photography by Jeremy Bittermann. Photography credits appear throughout the submission materials, documenting the completed work across seasons and lighting conditions.
The GRAY Awards recognize design excellence in hospitality environments, with winners selected across multiple categories. The award ceremony marks the eighth annual iteration of the program. Finalists represent a range of approaches to hospitality design, though Sequitur’s entry stands out for its integration of productive agriculture with guest experience.
Visitors to the property encounter a working farm that happens to offer tastings, rather than a tasting room that references farming as atmosphere. The distinction matters in a region where agritourism can sometimes feel staged. Here, the buildings serve the operation first, with hospitality as a secondary function that grew naturally from the farm’s existing activities.
