Producing whisky in a 40 metre high facility that also houses visitor attractions on a site prone to gale force winds is a tricky business. The design of Port of Leith Distillery - and its facade system - had to be meticulous
The new £12 million Muckle Brig Port of Leith Distillery in Edinburgh by Threesixty Architecture sits on a site next to Ocean Terminal, close to where the Royal Yacht Britannia is berthed.
It provides a valuable insight into the world of Scotch whisky, from distillery design and spirit production to community involvement.
Contained within a nine-storey tower, the new facility's production operation is stacked vertically over the first four floors, with the remaining upper floors housing Port of Leith’s visitor attractions, which include tasting rooms, a bar and shop.
Muckle Brig founders Ian Stirling and Paddy Fletcher didn't purposely set out to build a vertical distillery; the final shape and size of their building is a product of its restricted and challenging site. It is possibly only the second such facility in the world, after the Mackmyra in Sweden.
The brief was to create a building that reflected Stirling and Fletcher's ambition to present an exciting, modern face for the Scotch Whisky industry, encompassing their core values of innovation, education and openness.
The challenge was to build a 40 metre vertical tower adjacent to the harbour wall that would withstand the exposed environment, be practical to build and meet the stringent fire requirements of high buildings in the post-Grenfell landscape - a significant piece of structural engineering.
Specifying Building Systems UK's Trisobuild Cladding
Because of the complexity of the project, the architects brought in Building Systems UK (an enterprise of Tata Steel) to advise and design a facade specification. They recommened their Trisobuild VW/FW Cladding System.
The system is LPCB-certified and able to meet the A2 reaction-to-fire criteria of the facade height. The system was designed using Platinum Plus to include specific and accurate component and ancillary product requirements, ensuring that the complete cladding system could withstand the harsh coastal conditions, supported by a guarantee of credibility.
For Building Systems UK, working closely with the architects and Colorado Group, the construction delivery partner, was essential to ensure product information and specification flow was accurate from an early stage, that the architectural aesthetics remained uncompromised by the strict fire requirements and that buildability was considered in the process.
Besides the cladding specification itself, Building Systems UK carried out site audit inspections during the construction process, wind load and thermal calculations and complimented the system guarantee by the addition of Confidex for the Colorcoat Prisma external coatings.
The project completed at the end of last year. It has produced a unique building that houses a working distillery and visitor attraction - and is turning into a local landmark too.
Find more on this case study at tatasteeleurope.com/port-of-leith-distillery
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