WIPdesign has Crafted An Astonishing Elevator for the Champaign Brand Moët & Chandon
WIPdesign has created and built the lobby and the monumental elevator of the Maison Moët & Chandon at Epernay. Moët & Chandon, also known simply as Moët, is a French fine winery and co-owner of the luxury goods company LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE. Moët et Chandon is one of the world's largest champagne producers and a prominent champagne house.
Moët & Chandon HALL
When the Avenue de Champagne (located in Epernay, France) was awarded Unesco world heritage, Maison Moet & Chandon decided to reinvent the customer experience for the over 225 year old mansion, 30m below-ground cellars, and overall brand experience for the vinyards and tour centre.
From WIPdesign offices in Paris, they work with the visionary leaders of Moet & Chandon who shared in their ambition to challenge conventions, stand out and create business value through high quality design.
The vision proposed by WIPdesign was a grand tour experience expressed through the companies luxurious identity, along with the framework of the ancient, traditional wine making heritage. The design is inspired by the architectural codes from the existing site, and the elevator has been conceived as the master piece of the hall. Beyond the anachronism, it seems that the object has always belong to the house.
A boutique is integrated into the customer journey and connects the lobby and its monumental elevator designed by WIP to the wine cellars 30 meters underground. In this theatrical space, which elegantly brings ends the cellar visit, there is no space for the usual aggressive marketing offered in retail stores. The boutique provides a generous environment where the décor exalts and expresses the range of sensations provoked by Moët & Chandon Champagne.
HISTORY OF THE HALL
The Hôtel Moët was built in 1793 by Jean-Rémy Moët when he took over the business following the death of his father.
The Moët & Chandon Champagne House is among the Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
In July 1918, the building was badly damaged by a bomb and the subsequent fire. Reconstruction ran from 1928 to 1934, under the direction of the then House director Jean-Rémy Chandon-Moët, to plans drawn up by architects Henri Picart and Bruno de Maigret.
The façade consists almost entirely of windows, providing maximum light to the offices and workshops. The surrounding masonry is meanwhile composed of warm, sand-coloured bricks that are quite untypical of the region and probably deliberately chosen to convey the image of the wine itself.
The architects opted for what was then a relatively modern building material: concrete.
The construction of the "Commerce" building, in particular, could not have been achieved without load-bearing concrete columns — essential to overcome the instability of a site hollowed out by cellars below the surface.
The building is exceptionally tall, standing some 80 metres high and positioned like a sentry at the entrance to the Avenue de Champagne — a concrete expression of confidence in the future of the Avenue’s residents and their namesake Champagne wine.
(source Moët & Chandon and Editions de l’Effervescence)
Since the 1800s, the original headquarters building of Moët & Chandon Champagne has conserved its aesthetic value and continues to draw thousands of admiring visitors from all over the world.
Conception – design: WIPdesign
Suivi de chantier: WIPdesign
Conception lumineuse: IPSO
Agencement: Cecconi