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Andreea Saioc,

Editor (Art)

 

3With a history that goes back all the way to the Roman era, the vineyard of Château La Coste rests in the surroundings of Aix-en-Provence, on an ample plain that spreads out across 600 acres. After being at a standstill for decades, Château La Coste was acquisitioned by Irish art collector and real-estate developer Paddy McKillen in 2002, who had two colossal ideas in mind: to restore the former glory of the vineyards and to further add to their charm with a variety of lovely objects d’art.

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A couple of years after, a skilled team including no less than five Pritzker Prize winners have their creations displayed on the beautiful propriety.  Jean Nouvel’s gravity-flow aluminum winery, completed in 2008, was the first of many to follow. Soon after, Louise Bourgeois designed a giant spider to adorn one of the three reflecting pools and so, she synchronized the ancient winery with a more minimalistic modern time.  Ando’s chapel was positioned high up on one of Château La Coste’s crests and was created on the basis of an ancient construction that has been gradually covered by vegetation over the years; when Ando reconstructed it, he enclosed it in a structure of glass and so, he gave it it an air of rarity, as if it were a precious jewel kept safe.

While there are many works of art fostered in this beautiful vineyard, among the latest acquisitions we count two prefabricated houses that remain standing of Jean Prouve’s 450 constructions; the structures were designed for World War II refugees. They now have the lovely role of sheltering art libraries, that are connected by a 17th-century Vietnamese teahouse pavilion- a delightful place of rest for visitors.

Among future art projects expected to be completed in the near future, there is a five star hotel designed by Marseille’s Tangram Architects, a cooking school and a concert hall conceived by 105-year-old architect Oscar Niemeyer, as well as a vary of  organic gardens bearing the signature of landscape designer Louis Benech.