A 1970s radio relay station transformed into an ultramodern home, to be completed, with a swimming pool and radio relay dishes, in the Vaucluse, at th
A 1970s radio relay station transformed into an ultramodern home, to be completed, with a swimming pool and radio relay dishes, in the Vaucluse, at the summit of a famous peak.
This property is located in the north of the Vaucluse area, in the heart of the Dentelles de Montmirail forest, at an altitude of 722 metres, near to the high point of the Grand Travers mountains, with a 360° view of the Rhône Valley, the Drôme area, the Mont Ventoux, the Vaucluse Mountains and the Alipilles. The region is famous for its climbing cliffs and hiking trails but also for its PDO olive oil, Côtes-du-Rhône wines, truffles, preserved nature and wealth of historical heritage, including nine civil or religious listed historical monuments. Sablet, Gigondas, Beaumes-de-Venise, Vaison and Malaucène are its most renowned villages.
The property is situated approximately 15 minutes from Malaucène, 30 minutes from Carpentras, 40 minutes from Orange (and its high-speed TGV train station), the A7 and A9 motorways, 1 hour from Avignon (and its high-speed TGV train station as well as airport) and 2 hours from Marseille-Provence airport.
This former radio relay station can be reached at the summit of the peak on which it is located via the sole, no-through-road dirt track leading to the entrance to the 2-hectare property.
The edifice was designed by Jean Dumont, who was chief architect for civil buildings and national palaces, and built in 1978 for the Directorate-General for Telecommunications. It was a key part of the Lyon-Marseille radio relay link and was operational until the beginning of the 21st century.
Two large, now disconnected radio relay dishes are a reminder of the place's industrial past and are placed at the property's entrance, like two metal giants paying witness to a bygone era. The roof terrace and metal structures on which the original antennas and radio relay dishes stood are still visible on part of the building, which today covers an ultramodern home that invested the majority of the building as from 2010.
A part of the ground floor to the west, built to espouse the natural slope of the land, still remains to be converted into living space. To offset the considerable slope between the natural lie of the land and the main living level (2.10 metres), two 50-centimetre-high embankments were created, using backfill from on-site. They make for a harmonious transition between the interior and exterior, with terraces and a large flight of steps leading up to the entrance.
The current building still boasts the parallel lines and 15° angles typical of the original construction. The walls were restored with reinforced concrete, cast on site, with a quartz concrete finish and facing made up of regularly aligned stones. The former industrial openings, such as entrance vestibules and air vents have been fitted with windows and French windows. To improve the fluidity of movement between the inside and outside, French windows, which open onto the roof terraces, have also been installed upstairs.
The painted reinforced concrete swimming pool was cast on site on the natural lie of the land.
The former radio relay stationThe edifice boasts two levels below vast concrete roof terraces, as well as a garden level adapted to the natural slope of the land. It was built in several slightly staggered sections and was initially solely designed to house two heavy radio relay transmission dishes as well as the technical facilities required to supply them with energy. These radio relay dishes were solidly attached to the roofs thanks to a system of metal beams. A pair of the dishes received the signal from Lyon and the other two transmitted it to Marseille.
In the 2000s, following the discontinuation of this now obsolete technology, the premises were transformed into a home. The dishes were dismounted from the roof terraces and a pair ...
