BOMBAY SAPPHIRE DISTILLERY – UK

Prominent gin-makers Bombay Sapphire commissioned the creation of the company’s first in-house production facility at an old Victorian paper mill in Laverstoke, Hampshire, on a 20,000sqm rural property along the southern coast of England. The abandoned 18th century paper mill’s original brick buildings were converted into the distillery, while a pair of phenomenal curved glass greenhouses were added to house the 10 tropical and Mediterranean botanicals used to create the world famous gin.

Throughout the renovation process, Bombay Sapphire and architects Heatherwick Studio were dedicated to creating a sustainable and efficient distillery which upheld the heritage of the site. In recognition of this, the gin distillery was awarded the highly prestigious BREEAM (Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method) Award for Industrial Design.

The state-of-the-art facility has been recognised as the first distillery and first refurbishment to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ design-stage BREEAM accreditation. The centrepiece of the award winning distillery is the amazing greenhouse designed by Thomas Hetherwick. It is made up of two glasshouses which extend from the distillery, using recycled air from the distillation process to maintain a warm climate within. The glasshouses also take full advantage of advances in glass technology, one of which is EnduroShield’s easy clean nanotechnology. The EnduroShield coated glass utilised in this remarkable structure is synonymous with the development’s eco strategy; not only does EnduroShield protect the glass form staining and etching but also helps to reduce environmental and monetary costs from ongoing maintenance.

EnduroShield easy clean surface treatment for glass was applied onto the swooping glasshouse structures so that water and contaminants bead right off, reducing cleaning time and frequency. EnduroShield chemically bonds to the glass substrate, transforming it into a high performance hydrophobic surface which will protect against staining, and reduce the effort and regularity of maintenance.

The spectacular Bombay Sapphire Distillery project, with its strong environmental focus, is at the forefront of eco-conscious architecture. Bombay Sapphire have also commented that the sustainability measures taken during the design and construction process have fundamental financial sense, increasing efficiency with ongoing savings in operational energy and water costs well into the future.