Q&A with Gareth Roberts
What first drew you into working with distilleries and spirit brands?
15 years ago the Organic Architects had the opportunity to compete to design a distillery and we leapt at it. For me the branding of whisky had always represented a romantic idea of Scotland – stags and hills and this beautiful looking liquid. For an architect to contribute to the making of this product, that was a dream come true.
We won that first job, Ardnamurchan Distillery, because our design was attractive, but we also committed to deliver the building to the distiller, leaving them free to develop their business. To this day we do everything we can to make the delivery of the building as straightforward as possible.
What makes a distillery project different from a conventional building project?
To be a success a distillery has to achieve a number of things: The building has to be representative of the way a brand wants to project itself, whether that is traditional, contemporary or industrial. For this reason I say that distilleries are the last buildings which must be beautiful.
It must also be an efficient and safe workplace, meaning that the designers must have a deep understanding of the way that whisky is made, and how it’s evolving to be more energy efficient and sustainable. The building has a part to play in this.
What is the earliest mistake you often see in new distillery projects?
Very few architects understand the correct layout of distilling equipment. Malted grain is transformed into high strength spirit, but the process flow is important, as is the way heat is made and recovered. Much of the critical infrastructure of a distillery is not visible, it can only be learned by experience.
Then there is the way that distillers like to work. The more knowledge you have of the different ways of distilling, the better the building will be for making spirit in.
What should a proper feasibility stage test before anyone commits serious money?
There are some essential needs such as good water and power supplies, then there are characteristics that make working life easier, like ease of access for large vehicles. Traditionally distilleries have been built in very remote locations, so the spirit making process has evolved to be quite autonomous. It’s a farm process at the end of the day.
It’s actually amazing how small a building can be and still contain a distillery, that’s because large amounts of spirit can be made on small equipment by increasing the number of shifts, but we have had to raise roofs in the past, to reinforce concrete slabs, or to put vessels outside the main building.
How do you balance production, visitor experience and brand in the same place?
The three are really the same thing. Authenticity is everything in spirits production, so there shouldn’t be anywhere that isn’t open to visitors, meaning that the entire building is part of the brand story.
There are some examples of brand storytelling which must be built-in, such as the link between the still house and the view of the abbey ruins at Lindores. The history of the abbey was then taken back into the furniture and the fit-out of the exhibition and welcome parts of the building.
What do you wish more clients understood before starting a project?
It is impossible to appreciate the length of the design process until you’ve been through it. The building design develops along with specification of the process equipment – how big are the pot stills going to be, for example. How is grain going to be delivered, where is the best place to put the boiler, are there chillers and if so where will they not disturb people, will fermenters go inside or outside, where are the hazardous materials going to be kept? All of these decisions are made over time, with the building design adapting all the time.
When is the right time for a client to speak to you?
We’ve been working with some clients for years and we still don’t have a suitable site. Many whiskies take years to develop.
Ideally we will be involved with the design before the planning application is made. We know the consultants who can answer the technical queries that planners ask, and we can draft the process equipment from the start of the job.
We do sometimes inherit jobs which have undergone planning processes which have taken years more than they needed to, simply because the designers didn’t correctly size the site, or manage the application correctly.
What does 'Places with Spirit' mean to you?
The term originates from the architectural idea of ‘Spirit of Place’. The double meaning of spirit is a wee nod to the product we work with.
A spirited place must have character and beauty. A successful solution for a client is more than a technically competent solution to their brief. We are building for brands, every brand owner would like to think that the environments they create are outstanding and memorable, that they have spirit.
What does the other person bring to the table?
Bari has the interest in the technical aspects of the buildings which is necessary to sustain focus for the multi year process of taking a design to construction.
My interest is in delivering the best overall solution we can for a business. This means building the most appropriate building for the brand and advising distilling businesses on the broad spread of decisions needed to help them get there. I am lucky to have the benefit of many years of whisky industry experience and past work with numerous different types of craft distillers.
I work with landowners, distillers and funders to interpret what has worked in the past and adapt that success for their business.