Skip to content

Château La Coste Art Gallery

Aix-en-Provence / France

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.

An aerial view of a bridge in the middle of a vineyard
© Stéphane Aboudaram | WE ARE CONTENT(S)
 

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.

A blueprint of a fence with a lot of measurements on it
© RPBW
An aerial view of a white building in the middle of a vineyard
© Stéphane Aboudaram | WE ARE CONTENT(S)
A man is standing in a large empty room with a large window
© Stéphane Aboudaram | WE ARE CONTENT(S)
A snowy vineyard with trees in the background and a road in the foreground
© Stéphane Aboudaram | WE ARE CONTENT(S)

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.

 
An aerial view of a vineyard with a building in the middle of it
© Stéphane Aboudaram | WE ARE CONTENT(S)
A tree is standing in the middle of a grassy hill
© Stéphane Aboudaram | WE ARE CONTENT(S)
A white structure in the middle of a vineyard with trees in the background
© Stéphane Aboudaram | WE ARE CONTENT(S)
A man is standing in front of a large glass building at night
© Stéphane Aboudaram | WE ARE CONTENT(S)

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.

 
A large glass building with a mountain in the background
© Stéphane Aboudaram | WE ARE CONTENT(S)
An aerial view of a snow covered vineyard with mountains in the background
© Stéphane Aboudaram | WE ARE CONTENT(S)
A row of white umbrellas with trees in the background
© Stéphane Aboudaram | WE ARE CONTENT(S)
A man standing in a tunnel with trees in the background
© Stéphane Aboudaram | WE ARE CONTENT(S)

Project Details

Status

2009 - 2017

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)