FRANCE CÔTES DU RHÔNE WINERY
In the Côtes du Rhône wine region in southern France, Studio Mumbai & Studio Méditerranée completed a renovation and expansion project for a historic estate belonging to a family of winemakers who, for over five generations, have cultivated the land and produced, using a biodynamic process, top-quality wine, thanks to the area’s unique terroir.
And it is precisely the local soil that nourishes the vineyards, composed of Quaternary pebbles and clay and Miocene sand and pebbles, that is the focus of the project: a fertile womb from which not only the grapes but also the architecture springs. Its constituent elements are shaped and renewed through the careful extraction and reprocessing of excavated, harvested, crushed, remixed, and converted soil into design and construction materials, in homage not only to the genius loci but also to the principles of circularity and sustainability that underpin the company’s philosophy.
The project involves the renovation of the main historic core, the demolition of incongruous buildings, and the construction of new buildings, including a residence and a series of courtyards designed to cushion the impact of wind on the property.
Through a 60x40x12-meter excavation in the area affected by the main demolitions, 25,000 cubic meters of reclaimed earth were recovered, used in various ways throughout the project: from clay for the new surrounding walls and the new home, to construction concrete composed of a mixture of pebbles and sand and conglomerate waste from the demolished buildings, to mortars and finishing paints, composed of a blend of earth, lime, and hemp, for the renovation of the 17th-century farmhouse. In the newly constructed courtyards, the primary material is rammed earth, an orange clay found on the property, layered in bands and compacted according to a construction practice used for centuries throughout the Rhone Valley.
In the interiors, a palette of tactile and warm materials lends a rough yet welcoming aura to the spaces: from the bamboo furnishings to the handcrafted textiles in earthy hues to the chandeliers that evoke full moons shining over the vineyard-dotted landscape. Source: Domusweb.it – Ph Credits: Iwan Baan Michael Falgren
