Granges ovales jumelles de Vaux
MonumentHidden Treasure
Granges ovales jumelles de Vaux, located in Payzac (Dordogne), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Payzac, Dordogne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 45.3932, 1.2454
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00083102
In the heart of the Périgord Vert region, these two barns with their astonishing elliptical plan embody a rare vernacular know-how, unique at the junction of three départements. An agricultural curiosity listed as a Historic Monument.
History
Nestling in the wild countryside of Payzac, on the borders of the Dordogne, Haute-Vienne and Corrèze, the twin oval barns of Vaux are one of the most unusual examples of agricultural architecture in France. Their elliptical silhouette, covered by a domed roof that almost skims the ground, evokes both the shape of an inverted arch and the hull of a ship aground in the meadows of the Périgord Vert. You discover them with the same amazement that you feel when faced with a timeless object. What sets these barns apart from any other farm buildings is the boldness of their design: no right angles here, no traditional load-bearing masonry. The oval shape is not an aesthetic whim, but an absolutely coherent technical response. The timber frame alone carries the load of the roof, while the shale and quartz walls, dry-fitted or built with earth mortar, only serve to enclose the space against wind and predators. This dissociation between structure and envelope prefigures, in a rural and popular context, certain principles of modern architecture. The two barns stand side by side on the same Vaux estate, forming a coherent whole that must originally have comprised three buildings. The larger one housed livestock and crops under the same roof - a multi-purpose barn-stable typical of the rural economy of the Ancien Régime - while the second, slightly smaller, was reserved for the storage of dry goods: wheat, rye, vegetables and seasonal fruit. This functional specialisation bears witness to a well thought-out and efficient agricultural organisation. Visiting the oval barns at Vaux is like taking a break from tourism. The place is not museified: it still breathes the smell of straw and stone warmed by the summer. Photographers will find the curves of the roofs and the texture of the grey-blue shale an exceptional subject, particularly in the low-angled light of late afternoon. Lovers of vernacular heritage and rural history will find, in every wooden pillar and stone foundation, a living chapter in rural France.
Architecture
The architecture of the oval barns at Vaux is based on a construction principle that is absolutely original in the French built landscape. The ground plan is rigorously elliptical, a shape that can be found throughout the architectural style of this micro-region. The load-bearing structure is made entirely of wood: six square pillars, planted along the curve of the ellipse, support the crossbeams that radiate out towards the ridge and define the characteristic curvature of the roof. The cross-beams of the hips, at the ends of the ellipse, complete this framework to form a surprisingly generous interior volume. Purlins and rafters complete the framework, initially covered with thatch but now replaced by sheet metal. The walls, built of schist and quartz - abundant materials in the crystalline subsoil of this Limousin-Périgourdin region - play no structural role. They simply enclose the space, resting against or between the wooden pillars like simple screens. The main gate is set back in the centre of the façade, in a way that allowed loaded hay wagons to enter. This dissociation between structure and envelope, between the wooden skeleton and the stone skin, is the great technical lesson of these buildings. The maximum length of the larger of the two barns would have been around twenty metres, while the second is slightly more compact, but both share the same proportions and construction vocabulary.
Related Figures
Artisans charpentiers anonymes du Périgord-Limousin (XVIIIe siècle) — inventeurs et transmetteurs du type constructif ovalPropriétaires agricoles du domaine de Vaux (XIXe siècle) — exploitants qui maintinrent et agrandirent l'ensembleInspecteurs des Monuments historiques (fin XXe siècle) — acteurs du classement de 1996
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Granges ovales jumelles de Vaux located?
Granges ovales jumelles de Vaux is located in Payzac, Dordogne department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France.
When was Granges ovales jumelles de Vaux built?
Granges ovales jumelles de Vaux dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Granges ovales jumelles de Vaux open to visitors?
Granges ovales jumelles de Vaux is currently closed to visitors.