Château La Coste Art Gallery
The pavilion designed by RPBW is embedded into the heart of the vineyard at the prestigious Château La Coste realm. The building merges into the landscape and contains a contemplative exhibition space and wine cellars.

A gentle architecture embedded in the topography
This 285 sq. meters pavilion aims at both displaying art and preserving wine. Due to the natural topography of the soil, it was decided to carve a 6 meters deep valley in the earth so as to fully incorporate the building into the vineyard. The pure glazed façades and roof contrast with the simple exposed concrete used for both the retaining and the exhibition walls. The partly buried building highlights the roof covered with a sail fastened to thin metal arches. These arches echo the graphical layout of the grapevines, enabling the integration of the sail in the vineyard. As a kite, the sail flies and lands, emphasizing all at once the lightness and horizontality of the building.




An intimate space for art exhibitions and wine preservation
Inside, sculpture and photography exhibitions are displayed into a 160 sq. meters gallery benefiting from natural light. The remaining surface is dedicated to wine preservation. Thus, the exhibition space is surrounded by wine cellars whose scale is evidenced by the alcoves at the entrance of the gallery.




A contemplative gallery embedded in the landscape
From the reception building, the visitors will follow a path to the RPBW pavilion. At the end of the trail, a slight slope leads the visitors to the exhibition gallery’s entrance. At the back of the building, a space dedicated to sculpture is extended by a water mirror that largely reflects the full width of the pavilion.




Project Details
Status
Client
SCEA Château La Coste
Design
Renzo Piano Building Workshop, architects
Design Team
J. Moolhuijzen, D.Rat, M.Van der Staay (partner and associates in charge) with K.Lim; O.Aubert, C.Colson and Y.Kyrkos (models)
Consultants
Arup (roof structure); AECOM (main structure); LSD (MEP); Tangram Architectes (local architect for concept design); Rainey Best (project & construction management)
Main Contractors
Architen Landrell (tensile fabric structure); Newsky (glazing); iGuzzini (lighting)