One sunny, crisp afternoon, a few friends and I hopped in the car and set off for our next Aix-en-Provence destination: Château La Coste, a wine estate and art center where nature, architecture, and contemporary sculpture converge. The winding roads led us through vineyards and rolling hills, but it was the striking presence of Tadao Ando’s Gate that signaled we had arrived somewhere intentional. The cold concrete slabs flanking the entrance marked the beginning of an experience where every structure, every material, had a deliberate place.
Photo via chateau-la-coste.com
Spanning nearly 500 acres, the estate is a mix of vineyards, olive groves, and wooded landscapes. In 2004, Château La Coste expanded beyond wine to become a destination for art and architecture, now home to large-scale sculptures, three museums, five restaurants, and a hotel.
For those who appreciate Ando’s work, his signature is unmistakable—cool concrete, expansive glass, and the thoughtful interplay of light and shadow. In front of the main pavilion, a shallow body of water mirrors Louise Bourgeois’s Crouching Spider, its bronze form looming both delicately and powerfully over the surface. After a fantastic lunch inside Ando’s space, we set out on foot, winding through the estate to encounter an intriguing selection of sculptures, each seamlessly integrated into the landscape.
Tadao Ando Centre d'Art with Crouching Spider by Louise Bourgeois
I love how the columns of Centre d'Art extend into the vineyard.
Boxes Full of Air by Sean Scully
Auditorium by Oscar Neimeyer is an exhibition space.
Psicopompos by Tunga
Galerie by Richard Rogers houses exhibitions.
Aix by Richard Serra
Schism by Conrad Shawcross
Drop by Tom Shannon
Pavillon de Musique by Frank Gehry
All photos by Swain McCaughrin, except where noted
Château La Coste is more than a collection of artworks; it’s a place that asks you to slow down and observe—how a sculpture sits against the sky, how a building frames its surroundings, how the silence of an open field contrasts with the weight of steel and stone. It’s a dialogue between nature and structure, movement and stillness. And in that balance, it leaves a lasting impression.