CITÉ DU VIN | GUARDIAN GLASS
INSPIRED BY GAROME RIVER IN FRANCE AND WINE, THE NATION’S FAVORITE DRINK, XTU ARCHITECT DESIGNS CITÉ DU VIN IN A SINOUS FORM AND COVERS ITS UNDULATING FAÇADE WITH SUNGUARD® SOLAR GOLD 20 AND GUARDIAN ULTRACLEAR™.
TEXT: WARUT DUANGKAEWKART
PHOTO COURTESY OF GUARDIAN GLASS
(For Thai, press here)
It would be pretty intriguing if architecture is able to tell stories of a city and its unique cultures. Different tales can be told through a design creation and its carefully selected materials, forms and contemporaneous construction technologies. All the aforementioned are included in Cité du Vin.
Situated by Garome River, the main river that runs through the city of Bordeaux, France, Cité du Vin’s architecture is designed to bespeak its identity as the city’s new landmark. The curved architectural mass sits on the 3,000 square meter land with the functionality of a wine museum that houses a restaurant, exhibition spaces, a learning space and a wine tasting room. The museum’s 22 exhibition areas tell varying anecdotes though human senses as one experiences the building and its thoughtfully curated spaces.
XTU Architect, the project’s architect, intends to incorporate the concept of wine as the country’s national drink and express it through a work of architecture. This explains the curved, twisted and corner-less building that renders a sense of connectivity between the architectural mass and its surrounding landscape and environment.
Looking in from the outside, one can see how the architecture intertwines its presence with the winding course of the adjacent river. The building’s appearance reveals the texture of the glass facade that reflects natural light in various angles and from all directions. The facade is designed to curve and correspond with the building’s mass with glass panels designed as the highlight. Using the SunGuard® Solar Gold 20 and Guardian UltraClear™ model, bent into the calculated curved form, the facade perfectly accentuates the architecture’s silhoutte and characteristics. SunGuard® Solar Gold 20 is designed to have a gold color and the ability to limit UV rays and filter sunlight. When used with the facade, the material renders an interesting pattern, especially when accompanied by Ultraclear’s light-transmitting quality. Together the materials showcase the architecture’s fascinating structural elements while adding more interesting details to the building.
The dynamic connection between the exterior architecture and interior spaces with all the lines that perfectly and meaningfully encapsulate the concept and its close association with wine and the river. Inspired by the structure of a vessel, the main exhibition space sees the use of wood with the interior decoration, reminiscing the journey of wine while curating the most fulfilling viewing experience for the viewers.
A meticulous use of material fully enhances, not just the architecture but the message it wishes to convey. Complemented with the right curatorial program and meaningful backstory, Cité du Vin is another work of architecture that tells its story in such a profound and memorable manner.
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