At Château La Coste, between the city of Aix-en-Provence and the Lubéron natural park in France, you can contemplate and drink art. This highly sophisticated cultural hub is underpinned by wine-making experience and creative flair, which are combined to offer a unique experience defined by pure perception.
A feast for the eyes and palate commissioned by Patrick McKillen, a wealthy art collector and Irish businessman who bought what was at the time a simple winery and decided to transform it into an outstanding centre of wine, art and architecture.
Several eminent people were chosen to enhance the setting of the biodynamic vineyards, which currently produce Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Grenache, Vermentino, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Cinsault.
Jean Nouvel designed the hangar where the vinification takes place: a metal half-cylinder whose aesthetic appearance immediately reveals its function. Frank Gehry designed an outdoor pavilion for musical events, in his distinctive deconstructivist style.
Tadao Ando was the mind behind the evocative open-air contemporary art center, as well as a restaurant and a library: an authentic ‘face to face’ with 30 works by the likes of Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Paul Matisse and Ai Weiwei, which perfectly harmonize with nature, scattered around the grassy land or reflected in pools of water.
Finally, the recently inaugurated exhibition pavilion, designed by RPBW, hosts photographic and sculpture exhibitions and includes a wing for wine storage.
The 160-square-meter pavilion was surgically embedded 6-meters-deep into the ground of the vineyard, almost levelling the roof, which thus follows the visual rhythm of the vineyard. This project, which is extraordinary impactful both in cultural and aesthetic terms, is awaiting the owner’s next brainwave.
Photo Credits RPBW project: ©Stephane Aboudaram | WE ARE CONTENT(S)
