Thomas Heatherwick – Bombay Saffire Distillerie

Thomas Heatherwick

Laverstoke, Whitchurch, Hampshire RG28, UK

Thomas Heatherwick, Katerina Dionysopoulou, Eliot Postma, Alma Wang |
et Ville Saarikoski

Founder of the agency : Heatherwick Studio

Surface: 4500,0 m²
Year Project 2010-2014
Hufton + Crow – studio de Heatherwick

Greenhouses sit along an enlarged river, framing a new central courtyard for the distillation campus.

Photographies © IWAN BAAN

Bombay Sapphire Distillery was inaugurated in September 2014 very close to London.

Photographies © IWAN BAAN, who created a very unique place here while retaining the industrial footprint of the 18th century.

Photographies © IWAN BAAN.

The assembly process started with the installation of a patchwork of steel frames and temporary sleepers. Once the steel structure is finished, the bracing elements were removed one by one as the custom glass inserts were installed.

The transformation involved the restoration of 23 historic site buildings.

The river has become the central organizational device for understanding the complex site and this accumulation of facilities. The river was widened and its banks were opened and planted in order to transform it into a road which attracts visitors through the site to a newly defined courtyard in its center, surrounded by historic buildings. To make water visible and to become precious again, the river has taken more than twice its original width and its banks have been reshaped with planted plains.

Glass geometry has been optimized for a hot rolling manufacturing process.

Two greenhouses house and cultivate ten important plant species used in the Gin manufacturing process.

Greenhouses have a diameter between 9 and 12 m.

Their greenhouse structures are inspired by British Historic Greenhouses from Kew Gardens and distinctive copper stills used in the Gin distillation process.

The greenhouses are composed of 893 unique laminated glass panels framed by over 1,25 km of steel mullions.

The Laverstoke Mill Distillery is a unique place that was for some time the banknote making plant in England. Today, former ticket factory hosts Bacardi-controlled Gin Bombay Saphire brand.

The place will appeal to lovers of architecture, in particular for its huge greenhouse where there are many spices which are incorporated into the flagship drink of Bombay Saphire.. The rest of the distillery is housed in a red brick building which has been renovated for the occasion.

Photographies © IWAN BAAN. We owe him this rehabilitation of an old banknote paper factory in a distillery, for the spirits brand Bombay Sapphire.

This huge red brick building, typical of Victorian architecture, was renovated into a Bombay Sapphire branded complex with exhibition halls, training.. Photographies © IWAN BAAN 1718 and starts producing the world's banknotes.

During 200 coming years, a sprawling network of brick buildings has been constructed, which resulted in an uncoordinated matrix obscuring the river downstream. Therefore, Heatherwick's team decided to organize the site around the waterway with a central courtyard positioned at the heart of the project.

Photographies © IWAN BAAN, one tropical and the other Mediterranean, housing and cultivating ten important plant species used in the ginning manufacturing process. precision fabricated structures are constructed from 893 individually designed parts held an extra mile in a bronze-finished stainless steel frame.

In the heart of the rural English countryside, Photographies © IWAN BAAN, the new headquarters is seen as an opportunity to consolidate its manufacturing lines, thus improving efficiency.

the transformation involved the restoration of 23 historic site buildings, in addition to preserving local wildlife and removing nine poor quality structural additions – a process that the design team called "selective decluttering". in order to make the water more visible, the banks of the river have been widened and reshaped.

twin greenhouses spring from one of the factory's historic buildings, reappropriated as a gin distillation room that recycles heat from working machines. New Botanical Distillery Achieved 'Outstanding' BREEAM Sustainability Rating – the first facility in the beverage manufacturing industry to achieve this ranking.

The heat generated by the distillation process is used to heat the greenhouses.
© Heatherwick Studio

10 exotic plant species used in the gin recipe are grown indoors.

Coincidently, during the development of the greenhouse design, it was learned that the distillation process produced an excess of heat which could be exploited to create a tropical and Mediterranean atmosphere conducive to the growth of herbs and spices. Instead of planting 10 cash in isolation, the studio collaborated with horticulture experts to recreate their natural ecosystems by planting more 100 additional plants. The greenhouses were judiciously placed on the widened banks of the river trial, which means that the plants could draw directly from the flowing water source. The complex geometries of the greenhouses were achieved thanks to 893 custom curved glass components held together by over 1,25 km of stainless steel structure in bronze finish.

Bombay Saffire (2010-2014) Hampshire, England

Bottle of 1,75 liter of Bombay Sapphire Gin, New Botanical Distillery Achieved 'Outstanding' BREEAM Sustainability Rating. Each drop contains 10 hand selected plants.