Architects: Carmen Maurice Architecture
Area: 496 m²
Year: 2024
Photography: Guillaume Amat
Lead Architects: Carmen Maurice
Engineering Team: Bretagne Ingénierie, Alienor Ingénierie, Nicolas Associés, Armor Economie, Laboratoire Vectoeur, Become56
Construction Companies: COLAS, M.G.O, Etandex, Maçonnerie Vitry, Lorans Lamour, Pikard, Le coin des bois, FEE, Eiffage Energie, V3tec, LMS Revêtement
Landscape Designer: Antoine Hibou Cwancig
Manufacturers: Technal, Boyer-Leroux, Saint-Astier
Client: Commune de Sarzeau
Location: Sarzeau
Country: France
Located along the “Three Mills” road in Sarzeau, this 496-square-meter intervention by Carmen Maurice Architecture unites the renovation of a historic mill with the construction of a semi-buried winery serving six hectares of newly planted vineyards. Commissioned by the Commune de Sarzeau, the project provides operational facilities for winemakers while establishing a public-facing cultural space connected to agricultural production. The circular building wraps around the restored mill, forming a protective eastern edge for technical processes and opening westward toward a landscaped courtyard. Designed to accommodate future vineyard expansion up to ten hectares, the winery integrates gravity-assisted production flows and benefits from the earth’s thermal inertia, while a custom shell-infused plaster references the site’s coastal proximity.
Rather than treating the historic mill as an isolated relic, Carmen Maurice Architecture positions it as the organizing nucleus of a renewed agricultural landscape. Surrounded by newly planted vines, the mill regains territorial significance, its vertical silhouette set against the horizontal rhythm of cultivation. The architectural strategy reinforces this hierarchy through subtraction rather than assertion, embedding the new construction into the ground so that the existing landmark retains visual primacy across the site.
The winery takes the form of a compact circular volume that partially disappears into the terrain, creating a continuous base around the mill. On the eastern side, a solid enclosing wall shelters the production areas and establishes a discreet façade aligned with the operational demands of vinification. This controlled edge integrates the building into the landscape while clearly defining zones of work. The spatial organization follows the cyclical logic of winemaking, from grape reception in the north to bottling in the south, enabling efficient workflow within a constrained footprint.
In contrast, the western elevation opens toward the vineyards and neighboring mills. Two lateral extensions guide visitors toward the entrance and frame views across the site, culminating in a planted courtyard designed for tastings and public events. Circulation routes allow visitors to observe aspects of the winemaking process as they move around the mill, while the production level remains functionally independent below. This calibrated openness fulfills the municipality’s ambition to link agricultural activity with cultural engagement.
Material expression further articulates the building’s dual character. Internally, exposed brick, raw concrete, and visible service networks underscore the technical precision of the winery’s operations. Externally, a custom plaster incorporating crushed shells softens the mass and evokes the nearby Atlantic coastline. The semi-buried configuration not only reduces visual impact but also enhances thermal stability within the cellar. Together, these strategies produce an adaptable facility capable of supporting future vineyard expansion while embedding contemporary production within a site defined by heritage and landscape.
Project Gallery
Project Location
Address: Sarzeau, France
The location specified is intended for general reference and may denote a city or country, but it does not identify a precise address.
