CHÂTEAU HAUT-BAILLY

The discreet charm of a high-performance winery

In an article in Le Figaro about the new winery at Château Haut-Bailly in Léognan (33), the French daily Le Figaro talks about its aestheticism. This research, the work of architect Daniel Romeo, is one of the characteristics of the building, which harmoniously blends stainless steel, concrete, glass and wood. The new vinification, maturing, packaging and storage unit of the Grand Cru Classé de Graves estate has been compared “to a museum, although it is primarily a technical building”, as Gabriel Vialard, its Technical Director, explains in a quote from the Paris daily. The visible absence of cables, pipes or electrical outlets contributes to this effect of purity. This is a requirement that Cap Ingelec espoused by ensuring the mission of project management of the technical lots and that of HQE project management of the project, before being entrusted with the global mission of project management of execution. “This is a sign of confidence on the part of the owners,” acknowledges Alain Aslanian, head of Cap Ingelec’s building activities, who was in the front row from one end of the site to the other. The project also stands out for its technical performance, starting with its civil engineering work. The fact that the structure was buried 8 m below the natural terrain required the removal of 20,000 m3 of earth and the creation of a heavy invert to pour the concrete and support the construction.

levels

8 meters

underground in relation to the natural ground

38 meters

diameter without posts (size of the vat)

large containers

Excellent environmental qualities

The building, which has been awarded the HQE (High Environmental Quality) label, has very favorable bioclimatic conditions. “Spread over two levels, the building houses a barrel cellar buried at more than 8 meters, the grape harvest reception area and a vat room 38 meters in diameter without posts, semi-buried, topped by a landscaped terrace offering a view of the Château’s vineyards. The structure presents a great inertia, just like a cellar. Even in the height of the heat wave, its coolness was confirmed,” continues Alain Aslanian. He goes on to list the energy performance solutions recommended by Cap Ingelec: a garden terrace that absorbs climatic variations, air heat pumps that simultaneously produce heat or cold energy to regulate the temperature of the 54 large tanks, the recovery of up to 70 m3 of rainwater to clean and water the landscaped terrace that tops the installations, etc. “We were constantly listening to the client and the architect in order to assimilate the constraints within the framework of an iterative process” concludes the Cap Ingelec building manager, very proud of this collaboration. “This project is important for Cap Ingelec because it contains numerous technological and human feats. Our experience in the world of wine and luxury weighed as well as our BIM conception and our field organization”.