LE PUY-SAINTE-RÉPARADE, FRANCE

Château La Coste

Architect

Various (Renzo Piano, Jean Nouvel, Frank Gehry, Tadao Ando)

Year

2011–

City

Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade, France

Address

2750 Route de la Cride, 13610 Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade, France

Website

www.chateau-la-coste.com

Status

Worth Visiting

Type

CultureLandscape

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Description

A working Provençal vineyard transformed into an open-air art and architecture park, where commissions by Renzo Piano, Jean Nouvel, Frank Gehry, Tadao Ando, and others are scattered through olive groves and vineyards across 500 acres.

Château La Coste is an estate near Aix-en-Provence that has grown since 2011 into one of the world's most ambitious art-architecture parks. Owner Paddy McKillen commissioned a series of permanent pavilions, galleries, and sculptures from leading international architects and artists: Renzo Piano designed the main art centre (2011), Jean Nouvel a wine and design centre (2015), Frank Gehry a chapel, Tadao Ando a meditation pavilion, and Richard Rogers a visitors' centre. The pieces are integrated into the natural landscape of Provence — vineyards, lavender fields, pine and oak forest — connected by a walking trail. The estate produces AOC Côteaux d'Aix-en-Provence wines and includes a hotel, restaurant, and bookshop. Each commission was designed with the landscape rather than despite it.