Isle of Barra Distillery

Overview

We designed a new single malt whisky and gin distillery and visitor centre for our clients on the Isle of Barra after they came to us with an exciting vision to expand their already successful business.

The brief was to design a new purpose-built distillery that would house the clients existing gin production operations and provide capacity for their new whisky production. Alongside this, they wanted to build a visitor centre to include a cafe, shop and ancillary areas.

Location

Isle of Barra

Client

Isle of Barra Distillery

Budget

TBC

Completion

TBC

Our clients wanted their new facility to represent the island and its community values, acting as a lasting legacy to the island for years to come.

Our approach to this project was based around bringing to life the client’s vision of expanding their business in a sustainable and future-proof way.

Throughout the design process, we took into consideration the sensitivity of the rural site to make sure that the visual impact of the new building and associated facilities fit within the context and surrounding landscape, as well as the island’s history.

With the environment in mind, our final design concept made sure that the surrounding landscape could be returned to its natural state, enhanced by wildflowers and native plants, local to the area.

Materials and finishes

We opted for prefabricated materials due to the remote location, meaning delivery and installation time on site are reduced. The island location and exposed site also present a requirement to utilise materials that are durable against the elements – another benefit of the proposed cladding.

For the parking areas and the road leading up to the site, we selected crushed stone with the aim of reusing excavated rock from the site, allowing us to contribute to the circular economy.

Our final design proposal suggested landscaping the surrounding area to reflect the existing, with the addition of machair wildflowers to promote wildlife. The introduction of these wildflowers aimed to create pollination friendly areas and increased biodiversity to encourage the great yellow bumblebee. In addition, reinstating the natural landscape has created habitats for the corncrakes, also local to the area.

Outcome

The final proposal was designed to be sensitive to its rural context. In such a special site, we aimed to maximise views to the Atlantic and the tranquil white-sand beaches, iconic to the Isle of Barra. We achieved this through carefully considered orientation and design of internal spaces, whilst the massing and form were inspired by the traditional forms found around the island.

On completion, this building hopes to create more jobs on the island and contribute to a sustainable future for its residents. The distillery will significantly contribute to the island’s fragile economy by providing a tourist destination for visitors to the island.