Sharp blade: Wine cellar by Philippe Starck

The French designer Philippe Starck joined forces with the architect Luc Arsène-Henry on the project. The result is a stainless steel cellar that meets all requirements in terms of withstanding unstable weather and ambient conditions while also making an aesthetic statement at the same time. The wine cellar, most of it below ground, has three levels totalling some 2,000 square metres of floor space for storing about 300 barrels of wine, operating a vat house and holding tastings. The semi-submerged location in the man-made pond protects the precious wines from changes in air temperature and humidity. The "blade" also features a visitors' terrace with stunning views of the vineyards.   Once located outside the red wine stronghold of Bordeaux, the wine estate now finds itself within the city itself, an unusual circumstance to say the least. Commenting on the design of its new cellar, Phillipe Starck remarks, "The wine is a magic, its elaboration a science. Its home had to be evocative, a minimum, an intuition, a reflection. The wonder of Château les Carmes Haut-Brion deserved this consistency. I hope we did not prove ourselves unworthy." As Luc Arsène-Henry adds, "Above all we wanted to make this cellar an efficient tool".