Club-House du Dinard Golf
MonumentHidden Treasure
Club-House du Dinard Golf, located in Saint-Briac-sur-Mer (Département 35), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Saint-Briac-sur-Mer, Département 35, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.6321, -2.1369
- Mérimée Reference
- PA35000065
An Art Deco jewel nestling on the heights of Saint-Briac-sur-Mer, the Dinard Golf clubhouse (1927) combines modernist concrete, panoramic windows and seaside elegance in an exceptional Breton setting.
History
At the heart of one of the oldest golf courses in France, the Dinard Golf clubhouse stands out as a work of architecture in its own right, far beyond its simple sporting function. Built in 1927 on the heights of Saint-Briac-sur-Mer, this Art Deco building embodies the triumphant modernity of the inter-war years with rare elegance, in a natural setting where the Breton moor meets the sea. What makes this building truly unique is the way it combines geometric rigour with visual lightness. Its large bay windows flood the interior spaces with light that changes with the seasons, while the openwork railings, adorned with signs in the characteristic geometric letters of the Deco style, give the whole an instantly recognisable silhouette. The roof terrace, added later to accommodate a bar-restaurant, transforms the roof into a belvedere overlooking the bay of Saint-Briac. To visit the clubhouse is to enter a world where the history of sport and the history of architecture merge happily. The interiors, marked by the functional sobriety so dear to the designers of the 1920s, reveal a structure with concrete posts and floors that testifies to the constructive daring of the period. The social areas have retained the special atmosphere of the British clubs transplanted to Brittany: a blend of sporting rigour and aristocratic nonchalance. The natural setting further enhances the quality of the experience. Set on an eighteen-hole course between cliffs and hedged farmland, the building's roof terrace offers a breathtaking view of the Frémur estuary and the surrounding islands. At dawn or in the late afternoon, the low-angled light of the Emerald Coast transforms the light-coloured façades and highlights the geometric ornamentation with engraving precision.
Architecture
The Dinard Golf clubhouse is an eloquent example of provincial Art Deco from the inter-war period, a movement that spread from Paris to French seaside resorts in the 1920s. The building is based on a rationalist structure with reinforced concrete columns and floors, a construction material that was emblematic of the modernity of the period, and which is used here with a rigour that does not exclude formal research. The composition of the façades is based on a logic of repetition and symmetry that is dear to the decorative vocabulary of the incipient Trente Glorieuses: the wide, regularly rhythmic openings are framed by sober geometric elements that visually structure the whole without weighing it down. One of the building's most distinctive features is its openwork balustrades, crowned by pediments in which the club's signs are inscribed in the geometric letters characteristic of the Deco style. This design, which is both functional and decorative, gives the building a strong graphic identity that can be seen from the fairways as well as from the coastal road. The roof terrace, with its bar-restaurant, is the high point of the composition: a space open to the seascape, it logically extends the social and contemplative vocation of the institution. Inside, the distribution of spaces reflects the uses of the British clubhouse transposed to the French context: relaxation and dining areas on the ground floor, changing rooms and sports facilities on the intermediate levels, and a panoramic terrace on the roof. The large bay windows provide visual continuity between the interior and the surrounding Breton landscape, allowing Atlantic light into every room.
Related Figures
Les fondateurs britanniques du Dinard Golf Club (1890), membres de la communauté anglaise expatriée sur la côte d'ÉmeraudeLes commanditaires anonymes du nouveau club-house (1927), responsables du choix du style Art DécoEdward VII, roi d'Angleterre, dont les séjours réguliers à Dinard contribuèrent au prestige de la station et de ses équipements sportifsLes architectes locaux ou parisiens concepteurs du bâtiment de 1927, figures du mouvement Art Déco en milieu balnéaire
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Club-House du Dinard Golf located?
Club-House du Dinard Golf is located in Saint-Briac-sur-Mer, Département 35 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Club-House du Dinard Golf built?
Club-House du Dinard Golf dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Club-House du Dinard Golf open to visitors?
Club-House du Dinard Golf is currently closed to visitors.
