A glass tower provides facilities for experimental whisky-making at Glenmorangie’s new distillery in Tain, Scotland, designed by Paris studio Barthélémy Grino.
The facility gives Glenmorangie, a brand famous for its single-malt Scotch, space to experiment with other types and blends of whisky.
Barthélémy Grino designed two completely different buildings to house the distillery.
The first is a warehouse built from demolition waste stone, which houses the more industrial processes. The second is the glass tower, known as the Lighthouse, designed as more of a showroom space.
“They embody two different entities,” explains studio director Ludovic Masson in a video about the project.
“The first one is horizontal and houses the fermentation, malting and storage processes, whereas the other is more vertical, and houses the stills and the distillation process.”
The Lighthouse houses two impressive copper stills, believed to be the tallest anywhere in Scotland.
The design references the building’s location on the edge of Dornoch Firth, on the east coast of the Highlands, where lighthouses would historically guide ships to safety.
“We spent a long time finding the right quality of glass,” said studio co-founder Phillippe Barthélémy.
“The matter was both to propose a transparency revealing the stills and to reflect these extraordinary skies.”
The facade also integrates sawdust panels, made using the wood from old oak casks, which help to form a protective barrier against the toxic fumes emitted by the stills.
On the top floor of the Lighthouse, a showroom laboratory provides a space for distillers to showcase their latest creations to Glenmorangie distributors and other guests.
“This place is obviously located on the top floor to offer an outstanding view over the shoreline,” said Barthélémy.
The stone used to construct the warehouse building came from the demolition of a building that stood on the site previously. This was combined with locally sourced slate.
“Its function justifies its opacity,” added Barthélémy.
Barthélémy Grino won the commission for the Glenmorangie Distillery after coming top in a design competition in 2016.
The project was led by Bill Lumsden, Glenmorangie’s head of distilling and whisky creation, with a focus on innovation rather than expanded production.
Barthélémy Grino’s Phillippe Barthélémy and Ludovic Masson discuss the project in this video
The facility began distilling in Autumn 2021 but the first products are only just starting to hit the market.
Last week, the brand unveiled an upgrade of one of its most popular whiskies. The Glenmorangie Lasanta has been rereleased, aged for 15 years in a mix of sherry and bourbon casks.
“We’ve translated the brand identity, its tradition and modernity,” concluded Barthélémy.
“Most of all, we’ve offered whisky creators the latest generation laboratory to invent new single malts.”
The photography is by Hélène Binet.
Project credits:
Architect: Barthélémy Griño
Structural engineer and MEP: Blyth & Blyth
Industrial processing engineer: Briggs of Burton
Quantity surveyor: Thomson Bethune
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