From Bullets to Bottles, A Former War Bunker Is Converted, Bringing New Life

Visitors who want to learn more about wine can visit the wine culture museum, which showcases 1500 antique pieces in the collection, including antiques used in the wine-making process and smaller items such as openers and decorators. Unique glass cases with internal lighting are placed upon antique french barrels showcasing each of our client's historical wine antiques. In addition, many other pieces of the client's antique furniture were used throughout the bunker. Such antiques helped to create a coherence of juxtaposition between the old world of French wine and the history of the military bunker.

Our design goal is not to add new elements to the spaces but rather to leave the environment in its natural state to retain the feeling of the original bunker. For example, when our client tried to paint over the old red catalog markings on the walls, we insisted they leave them as a sign of the bunker's history. Such moments provided interesting talking points as visitors pondered its meaning. When we first visited the project, we saw thousands of wooden wine crates wrapped and packaged on pallets.

Our client later revealed they had purchased two years of inventory from Chateau Malmaison, a Rothschild Lafite winery in South Africa. As cases of wine were opened and discarded, we noticed that the wood crates were smashed into a pile. At that moment, an idea sparked to use these used wooden wine crates as the project's primary material. Using the existing wine crates is a choice to be sustainable through reuse and recycling while embodying the journey and story of the wine.