Macallan Distillery wins architecture honour

The Macallan distillery and visitor experience has won a major Scottish architectural award.

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) are incredibly proud to win this year’s Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award from the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) for The Macallan facility in Speyside.

The Doolan family and Aileen Campbell (Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government) presented Toby Jeavons, Associate Partner of RSHP with the RIAS’ Gold Medal at the awards ceremony, which took place at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Each year since 2002, the award has celebrated the best building in Scotland in memory of its founder and patron Andrew Doolan.

The ‘Doolan’ shortlist is composed of winners from several categories from the RIAS and the RIBA National awards. RSHP is honoured by the recognition of this award and furthermore to have been shortlisted with the other six buildings that have already received such recognition from RIAS/RIBA combined awards.

Inside the Macallan Distillery (Photo: Simon Price/PA Wire)

This year’s judges; Prof. Sadie Morgan founding director of dRMM (chair), Henry McKeown, of jm architects and Prof. Mona Siddiqui OBE Hon FRIAS visited and assessed the shortlisted buildings against a range of criteria including architectural integrity; usability and context; delivery and execution; and sustainability. RSHP’s The Macallan Distillery and Visitor Experience has received the award on these criteria.

The judges said about the project: ‘The attention to detail and the consistency and control of aesthetic decisions in this building is incredibly impressive. A worthy winner.’

The owners and client, Edrington, wanted a building that could reveal the production processes of their exceptional Single Malt Scotch Whisky and welcome visitors, while respecting the idyllic landscape of the Speyside region. This interplay of function and display fits well with RSHP’s architectural approach.

Informed by the surrounding landscape and the whisky production process, which has taken place on The Macallan Estate since 1824, the structure’s profile resembles ancient Scottish earthworks.

There is a great deal of responsibility in working with a brand and product that has the reputation of The Macallan in a landscape as beautiful as the Distillery’s Speyside setting. Throughout the design and construction, RSHP felt that it was contributing something special. To have it recognised by a Scottish authority such as RIAS is an honour.

Toby Jeavons, associate partner and project architect of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners said: ‘We are thrilled that The Macallan distillery has been awarded the Doolan for 2019. It was an incredible project to have been a part of and which was only possible due to our forward-looking and ambitious client in The Macallan.

‘A sustainable response to a fascinating and challenging brief in one of the most beautiful natural landscapes.’

Inside the award-winning Macallan Distillery

Graham Stirk, senior design partner, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, added: ‘It has been an honour for RSHP and the wider team to have assisted The Macallan in realising their vision for a new 21st century Distillery and Visitor experience.

‘The Macallan have been exemplary clients and central to this undertaking. Creating a facility for the future that can also respect the past and create a unique addition to one of the most beautiful landscapes in Scotland. It also serves to communicate the traditions, beauty, and importance of Scottish whisky-making to the world. The resulting building represents a new aspect to our architectural vocabulary and all the team have been intellectually enriched by the whole experience.’

George McKenzie, head of UK Engineering, Edrington, added: ‘The RIAS’ Doolan Award is an extremely humbling honour to be bestowed on the team that created The Macallan Distillery Experience.

‘The award is testament to the vision, and collaboration from our team and our partners. Together, we have been able to deliver this unique and striking piece of contemporary architecture.’

• Click HERE to read the latest whisky news from Scottish Field