Reflecting Pool of the Chateau + Restoration of the Hydroelectric Generator 

Put a low wooden walkway/bridge with wooden handrails upon the dividers for double sluice openings and in front of the gates. This would create an easy walking path to the reflection side of the pond. Behind and slightly above on the old concrete catwalk, put two long planter boxes for boxwood above the two sluice gates. Finally, over the generator house put a post and beam open air observation pavilion for the reflecting pond. It would be a great place to enjoy the view and the sound of flowing water, and offer a destination for the new wooden bridge. Additionally, it would protect the top of the concrete generator house with a roof.

You could put a traditional french country style folly on top of the turbine room so it resembles an old mill. Thank you for these video updates!

Absolutely stunning, a beautiful stone patio (Alfresco seating area) over the top of that area would not hide it but blend it in with white & cream hydrangia bushes, imagine water lillies in the lake to frame the mirror image of the Chateau Beautiful!!!

I love how Chateaux were originally set up as sustainable, closed-loop systems! Ingenious!

Really is very nice the water mirror!!! Beautiful!

I would think a hedge of evergreen shrubs would be a good screen. Not sure how tall you need it to be. Or you could splash out and build a structure over the turbine area and make it look like an old mill house. I love how the chateau is mirrored in the miroir d’eau. So pretty!

What wonderful plans and such a good idea to use the hydroelectric potential of your waterfalls. Whoever designed the chateau and grounds knew what he was doing. The miroir d'eau provides a gorgeous reflection of the chateau. You Frenchmen really have an eye for aesthetics.

Райское место. Очень хорошо, что есть река, парк. Повезло французам, что им в наследство от предков остались тысячи прекрасных замков. Замечательно, что они не брошены на произвол судьбы, а их продают людям, которые дают им новую жизнь, вкладывая свою душу, фантазию и конечно большие деньги..

Antoni your castle will be self-sufficient and you will save a lot of money on electricity. please when spring comes show us the lake with flowers I think it will be a beautiful place to sit and have a cup of tea.

Perhaps the simplest solution might be a mansard roof over the mill house/dam structure which references the chateau. Or possibly an orangerie. I am enjoying your videos a great deal. Your sense of style is brilliant and your joie de vivre intoxicating. Your pavilion home is charming and cozy. Magnifique.

Dear friend, instead of hiding the place, why don't you build a small cedar wood cabin or something similar on top of the engineering room that can be used for tools or a place to see the water mirror. In addition, you can make a garden around the area, making the all the area around the cabin very charming. Good luck.

I applaud your hydroelectric plans and I love the temple designed garden follies!

im looking forward to this part of the renovation.

My first thought is to create / build a "folly" on top of the structure that will resemble the chateau in style. The use of a "folly" is traditional in estate, both historic and new build as it creates a conversation piece while providing a useful disguise. I'm glad to know you recycled the mud from the miroir d'eau into the gardens as well as using the natural elements (water) as a sustainable resource. Salut-

I like the idea of redesigning the structure to mimic the chateau in some way. Make the bridge across the river more interesting to look at by using matching stone from the chateau and arches.

Super cool as usual. Use the roof of the turbine shed as a lovely seating area, and definitely keep the iron and waterfall visible as the English would. The reflection of your chateau would be lovely and the sound of the waterfall would be soothing.

I remember your early episode, when you explained the provenance of the earlier waterwheel, and your historic right to maintain it. So happy it all worked out for you! Why not try embellishing the building with stonework, and adding a viewing/seating area on top? Visitors are going to want to see how it all works; why hide it?

I love the Turbine power for the home and that you are sharing this place with us. I hope you keep the old Turbine to show off when tours are available so people can see the history with maybe a plaque to show the date and how people were thinking cleaner renewable energy back then also.

That is really cool, a hydro plant to power the chateau. I love the dual purpose of a reflecting pond. You could hide it by creating a gazebo or green house for vegetation growth. A Japanese Tea House would look great too. It could be landscaped as a Japanese garden around the Tea house with the reflecting pool. Great for parties! Crazy idea, a mill for grinding grain into flour. Produce your own products to sell.

Mur de nénuphars et feuilles de placage en pierre. Si beau et rafraîchissant que j’attends son achèvement pittoresque ! ❤

What a wonderful explanation. ❤

I would camouflage it, with a romantic "floating" pavillon, where you could sit and enjoy the views of the mirror pond and Chateau on one side, and the waterfall and river on the other. It should cover and conceil the concrete structure, and part of it would be suspended over the mirror pond. It should look old and romantic, and perhaps be planted with climbers, like maybe clematis, wisteria, roses...

My idea is to keep it simple, but beautiful, build a lovely open wall covered with climbing passion flowers. They with return every spring and you will be blessed with butterflies. :)

That is very cool to have your own power generator.

I am so enjoying watching the restoration of your magnificent castle. You are an inspiration! The gate house has been done with such taste and beauty, as well as comfort, your are an amazing young man! I look forward to each new installment. Bravo!

I am so glad that you were able to keep this. That will help so much with the heating of the large chateau. You are so lucky that the infrastructure is already there. Thank you so much for sharing.

I love your interaction with everything and all of us ❤

Never heard of a Miroir d'eau, however yours is beautiful! Love this series, good luck!

Build a gazebo on top of the wheel house to hide its purpose. A place to relax with the sound of moving water, enjoy nature and the pool and waterfall. Cover the drain shoots with a decorative wooden bridge and create paths with the destination being the gazebo. Landscape with climbing roses, jasmine or wisteria. Don’t hide it, utilize it! Love what you are creating, saving and sharing. Thank you

This so such a great use of water already going through property. Id love to know how much electricity it can generate. Many thanks for showing all this. Personally love all the mechanical details you're showing so far.

Hello, I love your site and Chateau. I was visiting a different chateau two months ago and saw their very old hydro-electric system as well. The owners of these chateaux were way ahead of their time, to harness water for electricity. This is so excellent for you!

Maybe build a structure on top that mimics the chateau. Or perhaps something with a little whimsy such as a pagoda shape.

The hydroelectric project is FANTASTIC!!!!!

The water turbine is a great idea. How amazing to have a set-up that's both aesthetic and ecological!

Bravo on making use of a sustainable power source!

Definitely a little arched, red bridge to be installed in chinoiserie style. Would add a beautiful reflection in the water. 😍

I watched all the videos you have uploaded over the last few hours. Every single video shows just how happy and excited you are to be living in and owning this beautiful piece of art history. I can't wait to come visit and stay in the AirBnB.

I like the idea of keeping it simple.Covering over the top and using for greenery. Perhaps shrubbery that would remain green year round. I am afraid any large construction would look out of place and draw unnecessary attention to the area. Your castle is so beautiful it should be the focus. Thanks for another enjoyable video. Look forward to them all. Admire your talents.

Construct a new or find an old conservatory to build over the generation site, thereby creating a beautiful place with plants that one could view from afar as well as go into it to view the water running and the mechanics. Keep up the good work! JIM ❤

re: camouflage - How about a pergola that takes advantage of the proximity to the water for growing a couple varieties of table grapes?

Love seeing the pool! What an excellent idea using a turbine for power. Would love to see longer videos and more often. 😊❤

Paint the building a soft green (matching the leaves) and you will be surprised how much it will receded into the background, with or without vines/vegetation, etc.

Linda a imagem do castelo refletindo no espelho d'água, sensacional!

All the things you are going to do = it is all so exciting, & it would be daunting to me......but you have planned everything out in such an organised way. I wish you good luck with it all and look forward to seeing the progress of your work on this beautiful place

You are very fortunate to have a hydro generator! If it was me I would build an attractive structure in an historic style on top of the dam and generator and call it the generator house.

It’s the perfect opportunity for a folly building. Make it look like a cottage!

I love the reflection WOW- it’s the kind of detail I know little about, but this looks Perfect

So dreamy...😍 Your chateau is also beautiful too 😜 About the turbine and weir structure, like you say, the more you try and hide it the more the eye will be drawn to it. So one option might be to make a feature of it? You could modify the external appearance to make it look like a bastion/cannon emplacement, as though it is the remnant of an older defensive structure. It could be relatively simply done by dressing it's low walls (as seen from the chateau side of the grounds) in stone work and covering the roof in gravel. This would leave only the stairs and bridge as the only exposed concrete. I think the metalwork of the weir mechanism is quite attractive and would leave that exposed to, perhaps hinting that it might have been a portcullis. All theatre, absolutely, so think of it as a little garden folly :)

Good to read about 'hope' (rare commodity these days) and the fact that you are re-using an ancient technology (stemming from pre-Roman times) to continue the earlier means of heating youe property. Huge amount of thinking and practical work involved of course but well worth it. Rain will fall and rivers will run - that's the hopeful and I believe, real bit.

Very smart to utilize your water for electricity. I think that a lot of people who have Chateau’s realize how costly heating them is. The couple from Beau Chateau said that when they put on weddings in the fall and winter the cost is $900 Euros a day to heat the whole Chateau. Crazy…. What about putting on a metal gazebo where you can plant evergreen climbers. 😊

Large clay or cement type pots with topiaries - I would lean toward animals but there are any number of shapes that can be created with careful planning. These shapes will hide the structure but keep the eye focused on the shape. Love what you have been doing. Keep up the good work.

The water mirror effect is a beautiful and classic feature that once graced more chateaux but is found in very few landscapes these days. Lucky for you to have retained this feature at the Chateau de Dampierre. Also fascinating is the ability to use hydroelectric power to light the Chateau. Now to find the perfect solution to hide the working parts of the system in plain sight.

I like the ideas of a folly, building a gazebo with climbing flowers, and a seating area to enjoy the view and sounds of the moving water. Love the hydroelectric elements. Thanks for the update and bonne chance with all the renovations 😍😘

Absolutely stunning!

The best way to hide something is not to cover it. It is to make it a more sophisticated version of what it really is. I would make it look like some medieval water mill or some similar structure. It would also need some landscaping, of course...

Beautiful and practical. Magnificent!

Bravo, bravo, et encore bravo. 🎉

Fascinating, thank you. Love this transformation

😃Ya estaba esperando un nuevo video, siempre interesante😉👍.

beautiful!

Love the idea that you have

This is fantastic. I really look forward to your videos. I've I can't live like this I'm glad someone can.

Some good suggestions for the turbine house. Instead of trying to hide the structure, make it a focal point. Add some rustic elements, and perhaps even a waterwheel. the visual of a turning wheel, and the sound of falling water would be charming.

Stunning reflection! I love your plans! Thank you for sharing.

Put a traditional glass French greenhouse or sunroom on top - I am sure it would be a lovely place to sit and enjoy the sounds of the water

Incroyablement intéressant! Subscribed and look forward to following the progress!

Bravo doctor! So much to inspire us.

An amazing idea.

Wow… genius waterfall idea!!!

What a man that Antoni is 🔥

Love to see your enthusiam every time! A passion project! Keep up the good work!

Absolutely stunning water feature mirroring the chateau and trees!! Love from Southern California 💗

Such an incredible property! And it fell into the perfect hands! Congrats

Looking forward to seeing the turbine installed and in operation.

Je regarde depuis le Brésil! Merci beaucoup!

This would be a dramatic solution, but it would be an art piece. Have you seen the forest structures made of mirror? They reflect the forest around and become a kind of camouflage. It would be an interesting artistic statement since it would be beside the mirror pond. I would imagine the structure covered in mirror, but with plantings in front of it, creating a reflection, doubling the plants.

Thankyou always for so much beauty.

很高興看見你保留了歴 史建物，又將它修復為 永續又環保的綠建築❤ 期待它未來再度重生閃亮！🎉🎉🎉

The mirroring effect is stunning and worth emphasising this feature with planting too

You might want to add water lilies. They smell wonderful and provide a wonderful array of colour. 😊

Very Impressive

Wow that’s so amazing. Having your electric in the house.

Wonderful plan for generating your own electricity!

Well done, great to see you using the river to assist in your power needs.🇨🇦

0:57, yeees so pretty nice, the castle and the water mirror too

How exciting to be able to generate your own power ... from water! Nothing better than to be self-sufficient. My only concern would be freezing weather and ice. I don't know ... Will you also be connected to grid just in case? Your enthusiasm is infectious. This is such a lovely property. It was meant to be yours. You are the perfect match to restore it to former marriage of prosperity and happiness. Personally, I appreciate the brutalist movement in architecture. If done with taste and correctly, it can be eye-appealing. Concrete, brick and steel can be creative. Some greenery ... French roses .. As always, great shirt ...

What a lovely water mirror for the chateau! What a joy it will be to have all that green power on site, all the time! Just a thought, to hide the turbine building, what if you build a decorative bridge over the dam by the turbine building, possibly expanding what is already there but something more like Monet Water Lilies bridge in Giverny. Hmmm!

Great video, I just discovered the channel and I'm loving following the progress of the renovation. Cheers from Brazil! 👍

Me encanta el proyecto como todo lo que publicas gracias por compartir tu sueño 😊

Hi Antoni, Perhaps plant low plants in the style of the environment in front and around of it. And indeed make a terras out of wood or stones on top of it. And there you can puy some nice pots with plants and some nice sun loungers . So that you can see the water and not notice it . A kind of hidden terras for intimate evenings or moments to look at the stars and the castle.

I would build a balustraded bridge over the funnel, since the best view of the falling water is downstream, looking upstream or directly above it, looking down. The turbine would be beneath and between the balustrades. You would have swift water on one side and a falling water on the other. The balustrade would also complete the rectangular shape of the miroir d'eau, while hiding the weir and the oddly shaped sluice gate at the end of the reflecting pool. Access to the turbine would be on the downstream side. I could see a staircase spiraling down to access the turbine tucked out of sight, under the bridge.

Absolutely stunning view of the castle and reflection. Whatever you decide to do it will be beautiful. Deborah North Carolina

Impressionata da tanta bellezza 😮

I just finished watching a video on So Chateau about the Chateaux that the Designer Juan Pablo Molyneux has. He has creeping vines that are on the walls that lead up to the main entrance of the Chateaux. It shows them in the beginning of the video. Maybe you could contact him and ask him and his gardener about the type of vine it is and how it does there in winter. Jeff❤

Bonjour darling, I think you should build a neoclassical tea house on top of the generator, make the generator look like the foundation plant box hedges around it and use the tea house in the summer for wines in the summer evenings and also to relax and admire the chateau and the miroir d”eau from. Bon chance!

I like the planter idea with overhanging plants. Could also be a bridge with planters along the sides for overhanging plants. So fun ❤️

So interesting and wonderful use of a near resource. Landscaping is not my expertise, but I’m sure you will make it beautiful. Can’t wait to see what’s next.

This could not be any greater than to have your own Turbine power for the electric and the water. This is a 'gem' all by itself. This is one of the most important elements anyone could have to use! So, needed! Many have had such problems with their chateaus in this area. So yes, watch the sun, we never know how strong those rays are, honestly! I hope you have visitors, and they can come here and enjoy? If they do maybe sunscreen, small little samples, would be good to give out? Reminders to not 'over do' it? I had Basil Cell Carcinoma once, and I know for sure. Never dreamed that would happen. Never had skin problems before! Luckily it was not any more than this! That is why I mention how it is good to have them enjoy time there, but being careful if they do. Use of Sunscreen does help alot. We often forget this! You truly did your homework and found a fantastic Chateau, and it seems to be an absolutely perfect location too! This too will be so beautiful as you add nature with it all, the greenery and Herbs work out so nicely and the fragrance is lovely when one rubs or sweeps by it. Of course, always fantastic for cooking, if closer to home!

It’s absolutely amazing 😎🤌🏻nice elegant reconstruction and gorgeous inspiration ✨✨🤌🏻

The water source is one of the best ways to make constant power. Please post more about this. Even though i dont like your style in decor i like your thought processes of how you choose colours etc. Looking forward to the next episode. Cheers from Australia.