Collection

Châteaux Bordeaux

  • Date 1988
  • Address Centre de Création Industrielle (Centre Georges Pompidou), Paris (France)

In 1988, the Centre de Création Industrielle (Centre Georges Pompidou) launched a major European consultation with architects to encourage reflection on the architectural future of wine-producing facilities in the Bordeaux region. The aim was to re-establish a comprehensive architectural vision in order to counteract the proliferation of ad hoc initiatives in which architectural quality is sometimes neglected. Organised into three sections, the exhibition features a ‘historical’ section, an inventory, followed by a section on current architectural trends in Bordeaux’s wine-producing estates and, finally, a forward-looking approach in which a dozen architects were invited to propose interventions in both urban and rural settings. In rural areas, two estates near Pauillac have been selected: Château Pichon-Longueville and the Duhart-Milon vineyard, the latter being unique in that it has no château…

Thus, alongside six other architects, Charles Vandenhove took part in the ‘imaginary châteaux in the Médoc’ project – that is, the conceptual design of a château for Duhart-Milon, a project accompanied by a study into the development of complementary business clusters. Following a five-day visit to the region (January 1988) with Jean Dethier, the exhibition’s director, Vandenhove drew up his proposal.

As in Hellevoetsluis, the architect from Liège makes the most of the site, particularly the waterways, which cause the valley floor to flood every year. The architect envisages a sequence of buildings arranged around a central axis surrounded by a body of water. To the north, a station welcomes passengers alighting from the wine train. On the other side, facing the road, four buildings arranged symmetrically in an L-shape accommodate the residents. Further on, after passing through an archway along the central axis, visitors discover the château, also known as the ‘temple of wine tasting’. Topped by a panoramic roof terrace, the building is crowned with a conical glass dome, above which sits a hollow sphere, a ‘symbol of the union of Reason and Passion’. Between the station and the château, a ‘Museum of Bordeaux Wine Architecture’, an open-air theatre, four ‘Wine Embassies’ pavilions and wine-making workshops complete the project. The latter are housed in a long, horizontal building that frames the view.

  • Description of the collection

    A file containing correspondence, photographs of the site, the tender documents and a presentation text.
  • Volumetry 1 archive box (0.12 m)
  • Bibliography

    BEKAERT, Geert, Charles Vandenhove 1985–1995, Rotterdam, Nai uitgevers/publishers, 1994, p. 192

    BEKAERT, Geert, ‘The Author and his Project’ in DETHIER, Jean, Châteaux Bordeaux, Paris, Édition du Centre Georges Pompidou, 1988, pp. 244–248
  • AUTHOR AND DATE OF THE ENTRY Sébastien Charlier, 2022