Weatherproof steel on French wine estate

Visitors to the Commanderie de Peyrassol wine estate are greeted by a number of structures in weatherproof Corten steel. The first is an impressive 36-tonne entrance canopy with a 7-metre cantilever covering a total length of 32 metres and standing 7.5 metres tall at its highest point. The canopy culminates in a spire made of simplex-shaped tube with cladding in 5 mm weather-resistant sheet steel supported only by 15 mm thick vertical stiffeners varying in height between 315 mm and 30 mm. Inside the building, the curved, 5-metre high ‘bottle rack wall’ made of reinforced 3 mm steel plates extends to a length of over 20 metres and supports the floor plate of a storage room. A gallery made up of five 8.2-metre modules in Corten steel connects the reception and tasting rooms to the vineyards. The finishing touch is provided by the monumental Templar Cross, which towers 9 m above the visitors’ car park.