Château Éphémère
Château Éphémère is a French non-profit cultural organization (Association Vanderlab) operating a heritage château 'tiers-lieu' in Carrières-sous-Poissy, Yvelines, hosting digital arts and electronic music residencies, coworking, events, restaurant services, and educational programming.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersCarrières-sous-Poissy, France
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Château Éphémère does
Château Éphémère is a French non-profit cultural association (Association Vanderlab under the Loi 1901 framework) that operates a 'tiers-lieu' (third place) dedicated to digital and sound arts at the Vanderbilt château in Carrières-sous-Poissy, Yvelines, approximately 30 minutes from Paris. Founded in 2015, the organization occupies a 2-hectare estate anchored by a 1907-built château with roughly 2,000 m² of privatisable space, hosting artists, cultural professionals, and the general public. Its 2024 footprint included 130 hosted artists across 50 residency projects, 5,000 visitors, 17 events, 38 workshops, and 604 children reached.
Core products include two annual residency programmes — one in digital arts (in its 11th edition) and one in electronic music (in its 4th edition) — together with a fablab equipped with 3D printing, laser cutting, and screen printing, dedicated sound studios, and educational programming such as MEUFS (women in electronic music) and Fabrique Électro (in partnership with SACEM). A new Dance and Technology Incubator was added in 2025 with La Fabrique de la Danse and Centre des arts d'Enghien-les-Bains. Revenue is generated through coworking offices (€200-550/month), studio rentals, event privatization (weddings, corporate events), an on-site restaurant, and weekend brunches (€15-€28), supplemented by institutional grants from Région Île-de-France, DRAC Île-de-France, GPSEO, Préfecture des Yvelines, and CDC Habitat.
The organization operates within a broad partner ecosystem that includes Groover (music residency platform), Transcultures, Pépinières européennes, La Fabrique de la Danse, Centre des arts d'Enghien-les-Bains, SACEM, and BECOMTECH. The business model is hybrid: commercial activity at the venue funds operations while public institutional funding covers programming and residency costs. The applicant pool (1,600+ applicants for 24 residency slots in 2024) signals strong demand-side leverage for selection.
Château Éphémère firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Château Éphémère
- Legal name
- Association Vanderlab
- Website
- https://chateauephemere.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Château Éphémère is a French non-profit cultural organization (Association Vanderlab) operating a heritage château 'tiers-lieu' in Carrières-sous-Poissy, Yvelines, hosting digital arts and electronic music residencies, coworking, events, restaurant services, and educational programming.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Château Éphémère industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cultural Arts Venue
- NAICS
- Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Specialty & Historic Venues (Landmarks, Estates) (THAHAAAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations) (THAJADAI), Performing Arts & Cultural Event Venues (Theaters, Museums) (THAHAAAG)
Keywords
Where Château Éphémère is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Carrières-sous-Poissy
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Château Éphémère business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Coworking Memberships: Monthly rental of individual offices (13–18m² at €300–450 HT/month) and shared open-space desks at €27 HT/day. Individual private offices available at €200–550 HT/month depending on size, with 24/7 access.
- Studio Rental: Rental of music studios (Electro Studio, Acoustic Studio) to external artists and musicians, with or without equipment.
- Event Privatisation: Rental of spaces (Atrium, Grand Studio, multimedia room, restaurant/terrace, Chapiteau, garden) for private events including weddings, seminars, concerts, and corporate events.
- Restaurant & Brunch Services: On-site restaurant operated by partner chefs; themed brunch events at €28/adult and €15/child, serving as both revenue and community programming.
- Institutional Funding & Grants: Sustained financial support from public institutional partners including the Région Île-de-France, DRAC Île-de-France, Communauté Urbaine GPSEO, Préfecture des Yvelines, and CDC Habitat, supporting both core operations and project-specific initiatives.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Individual office rental: 13m² at €300 HT/month, 18m² at €450 HT/month — 24/7 access with fibre, parking, and park access |
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Open-space shared desk at €27 HT/person for two Wednesdays per month (10h–18h) |
| Subscription | Monthly | Private office rental ranging from €200 to €550 HT/month based on size (9–23m²), 24/7 access |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Themed brunch formula at €28 adult / €15 child, including hot drinks and one glass of artisanal juice |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Space privatisation for events (Atrium, Grand Studio, multimedia room, restaurant, terrace, chapiteau, garden) — quote-based |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels9 records
Château Éphémère product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Château Éphémère operates a cultural third-place (tiers-lieu) dedicated to digital and sound arts, housed in a historic 1907 building originally built by William Kissam Vanderbilt. The venue offers artist residencies, recording studios, a fablab, coworking spaces, event privatization, restaurant services, and creative workshops. The site is managed by Association Vanderlab under French Loi 1901 non-profit status since 2015.
Product overview
Château Éphémère is a cultural tiers-lieu (third-place) dedicated to digital and sound arts creation, operated by the Vanderlab association within the historic Vanderbilt Château in Carrières-sous-Poissy (Yvelines, France). The venue functions as a unified platform offering multiple interconnected creative services: artist residencies in music, digital arts, and performing arts; fully equipped recording studios (electro and acoustic); a digital fabrication laboratory (fablab) with 3D printing and laser cutting; coworking spaces with flexible office rentals; privatization venues for events; an on-site restaurant with rotating guest chefs; shared gardens; and a public programming of workshops, Hyper Sonic concerts, and cultural education activities. The offering operates as an integrated creative ecosystem where resident artists access studios, fablab equipment, and technical support while the public participates through events, brunches, and educational workshops.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- 50+ artistic residency projects supported per year
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Château Éphémère
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Château Éphémère technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Château Éphémère partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Association VanderlabcoreAssociation Vanderlab is the managing association that operates and animates Château Éphémère on behalf of property owner GPSEO. Founded following the EPAMSA-commissioned study, it has run the venue since 2015, handling all operations including programming, residency management, facility maintenance, and community engagement.
- Communauté Urbaine Grand Paris Seine & Oise (GPSEO)coreGPSEO is the property owner of the Vanderbilt château estate (2 chemin des Grandes Terres, 78955 Carrières-sous-Poissy) and primary institutional backer. It acquired the domain in 2012 at €1 from GSM and transferred management to Association Vanderlab. GPSEO provides ongoing operational support and strategic alignment with territorial development goals.
- Établissement Public d'Aménagement du Mantois Seine-Aval (EPAMSA)minorEPAMSA commissioned the initial cultural friche study for the Vanderbilt site as part of its urban revitalisation strategy for Carrières-sous-Poissy, which led to the creation of the cultural venue.
- Région Île-de-FrancecoreRégion Île-de-France is a key institutional funder, supporting Château Éphémère's residency programmes and capital projects. It co-funds the annual open-call residency programmes for digital arts and electronic music, contributing to grants and production support for resident artists.
- Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles d'Île-de-France (DRAC IDF)coreDRAC Île-de-France is the regional cultural affairs authority providing operational funding and project support, particularly for educational and cultural action (EAC) programmes, summer cultural programming ('Été au Château'), and the overall artistic programme.
- Préfecture des YvelinesminorPrefectural authority of the Yvelines department providing supplementary funding for Château Éphémère's operations and cultural initiatives.
- TransculturescoreTranscultures (Belgium) is a strategic partner in the digital arts residency programme, contributing to the jury selection process and providing international visibility and networking for resident artists. Co-partner in the annual Appel à projets arts numériques.
- Pépinières européennes de créationcoreEuropean network of creation nurseries partnering with Château Éphémère on the digital arts residency programme, supporting artist mobility and international exchange within the European creation network.
- GroovercoreGroover is the exclusive platform for the electronic music residency call for applications and provides promotional and marketing support for selected artists through its Groover campaign tool. The partnership gives selected artists a complete promotional campaign for one track and the possibility to join the Groover Obsessions bespoke programme.
- La Fabrique de la DansecoreLa Fabrique de la Danse co-leads the 'Incubateur Danse et Technologies' programme with Château Éphémère and the Centre des arts d'Enghien-les-Bains, supporting emerging choreographers integrating interactive and immersive technologies in their work.
- Centre des arts d'Enghien-les-Bains (CDA)coreCentre des arts d'Enghien-les-Bains partners with Château Éphémère and La Fabrique de la Danse on the dance and technology incubator programme. The CDA hosts the final presentation (Les Bains Numériques) during its biennial digital arts festival, providing a dissemination platform for selected artistic teams.
- CDC HabitatminorCDC Habitat Social partnered with Château Éphémère and DRAC IDF on the 'Raconter les fleurs' artistic project, an intergenerational photographic and sound project with residents of the Fleurs housing estate in Carrières-sous-Poissy.
- BECOMTECHminorBECOMTECH is a national association promoting gender diversity in IT and digital sectors for girls aged 14–25. Château Éphémère hosted the 'Jump In Tech' summer programme at its venue, a four-week tech and coding training camp for young women.
- Tisseurs de LiensminorLocal associative partner providing catering and community meals at Château Éphémère events, including heritage days brunches and family-oriented programming.
- EcstaticminorEcstatic is a collective involved in the MEUFS programme (fighting invisibilisation of women in electronic music) in partnership with La Clef, Le Sax, Le RIF, and Ecstatic Playground. Château Éphémère co-programmes events with this collective.
- Ville de Carrières-sous-PoissyminorThe municipality of Carrières-sous-Poissy is a local government partner collaborating on cultural projects including the 'Graines de Producteur' youth programme, heritage events, and summer cultural programming.
- SACEMminorSACEM (Société des Auteurs, Compositeurs et Éditeurs de Musique) partners with Château Éphémère on the 'Fabrique Électro' programme, supporting music creation workshops for schoolchildren in the framework of EAC (Éducation Artistique et Culturelle).
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Château Éphémère competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Stereolux: Nantes-based cultural venue dedicated to digital arts, electronic music and emerging practices. Programmatically analogous to Château Éphémère's digital/sound residency mix.
- Le Lieu Unique: Cultural centre in Nantes (former LU biscuit factory) combining residencies, exhibitions, and stage programming. Closely comparable as a hybrid cultural third-place in France.
- La Friche la Belle de Mai: Marseille cultural third-place combining residencies, fablab (la Plateforme), coworking, performance spaces and restaurants — the closest direct comparable in the French cultural tiers-lieu ecosystem.
- Le CENTQUATRE (104): Public cultural centre in Paris combining residencies, fablab, coworking, performances and exhibitions. Comparable hybrid creative-venue model at a much larger scale.
- Mains d'Œuvres: Saint-Ouen cultural third-place with shared workspaces, fablab, residencies and events — directly comparable hybrid creative-infrastructure model near Paris.
- La Gaîté Lyrique: Paris cultural venue dedicated to digital arts, contemporary music and emerging practices. Same nonprofit/publicly-supported model with residencies, studios, exhibitions and education — the closest national-scale comparable.
Others
- Groover: Music promotion platform that runs Château Éphémère's electronic-music residency call. Adjacent ecosystem player supporting independent musicians with promotional tools and artist development.
- Transcultures / Pépinières européennes de création: Belgian digital-arts residency network partnered with Château Éphémère's digital-arts programme. Closest comparable as a residency provider and digital-arts programme producer.
Regional players
- Le Sucre: Lyon rooftop cultural venue focused on electronic music events and digital-arts programming. Comparable heritage/industrial-space venue model in another French region.
- La Condition Publique: Cultural third-place in Roubaix combining coworking, fablab, residencies and events inside a heritage textile building — analogous hybrid model outside Île-de-France.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Château Éphémère social profiles
Digital presenceChâteau Éphémère financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Château Éphémère leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Château Éphémère funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Château Éphémère M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Château Éphémère
What does Château Éphémère do?
Château Éphémère operates a cultural third-place (tiers-lieu) dedicated to digital and sound arts, housed in a historic 1907 building originally built by William Kissam Vanderbilt. The venue offers artist residencies, recording studios, a fablab, coworking spaces, event privatization, restaurant services, and creative workshops. The site is managed by Association Vanderlab under French Loi 1901 non-profit status since 2015.
Is Château Éphémère a public or private company?
Château Éphémère is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Château Éphémère founded?
Château Éphémère was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Château Éphémère based?
Château Éphémère is headquartered in Carrières-sous-Poissy, France, in the Europe region.
How does Château Éphémère make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Coworking Memberships are the primary driver. The others are studio Rental, event Privatisation, restaurant & Brunch Services and institutional Funding & Grants.
Who are Château Éphémère's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Stereolux, Le Lieu Unique, La Friche la Belle de Mai, Le CENTQUATRE (104), Mains d'Œuvres and La Gaîté Lyrique. Others are Groover and Transcultures / Pépinières européennes de création. Regional players are Le Sucre and La Condition Publique.
Does Château Éphémère have an API?
No public API is recorded for Château Éphémère.
What industry is Château Éphémère in?
Château Éphémère's product category is Cultural Arts Venue. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAHAAAK, Specialty & Historic Venues (Landmarks, Estates), with a secondary code of THAJADAI, Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations). Its NAICS code is 7121.