La Cité du Vin, Bordeaux, project: XTU - Anouk Legendre + Nicolas Desmazières
©XTU-Delphine Isart
With its shimmering, sinuous structure, Cité du Vin, which opened in June last year, has become a landmark on Bordeaux’s cityscape. A tribute to local oenology, the building invites visitors to discover the intricate and intriguing world of wines.
The softness of the outside shell is emphasised by a coating of silk-screened glass panels alternating with iridescent lacquered perforated aluminium panels. This creates an interplay of reflections and transparencies that varies according to the time of day weather conditions echoing the Garonne.
©XTU-Julien Lanoo
The structure’s curving forms interact smoothly with the dynamic interior spaces to dictate the Cité’s layout and installation features. The roof frame made of 574 arches enhances the spaces and creates a striking setting evoking the world of wine.
©XTU-Julien Lanoo
Designed by the architects Anouk Legendre and Nicolas Desmazières from XTU with interior design work by the British firm Casson Mann, the building covering an area of 13,350 m² provides a poetic and highly distinctive interpretation of the historical and cultural richness of the Bordeaux region.
©XTU-Julien Lanoo
The public is invited to come in and discover this world along a special pathway running right through the building. The architecture turns into part of this experience, blending smoothly in with what the museum actually contains.
©XTU-Julien Lanoo
To make the visit as enjoyable as possible, 3000 m² of the Cité du Vin’s permanent exhibition layout has been covered with CLIPSO acoustic fabric.
Specially designed for this project, CLIPSO pepper-coloured acoustic coverings blend in perfectly with the wooden structure to provide the very best acoustics. These coverings have allowed the architect considerable flexibility by the way they adapt easily to the specific needs of this unusual project.
All the structural/fluidity requirements have been fully complied with in line with the place’s general mood and feel.
CLIPSO’s stretch fabrics for walls and ceilings offer numerous technical, aesthetic and ecological benefits in line with Cité du Vin’s “eco-friendly” spirit.
The most distinctive trait is the way they adapt to different design situations, as is confirmed by all the building work CLIPSO is involved in with international architects and engineers.
