The plant is located on the banks of the Test River in the former Laverstock Mill paper mill, whose Victorian architecture has been carefully reconstructed in collaboration with the state heritage agency English Heritage. It is difficult to imagine a more suitable place for the production of "good old gin", the alleys of which the British have wandered for centuries.
Bombay Sapphire has embraced the increasingly popular concept of industrial architecture, where architecturally framed machines and conveyors become the company's face, advertising and museum, transforming into a local landmark. The plant is designed for the flow of visitors who have access to all stages of production: you can even go to the distillation shop, where alcohol is saturated with herbal aromas. This was the customer's conscious position: no "visitor centers", only the reality of the distillery business. Moreover, the production is organized on a grand scale: 2.3 million boxes of gin per year.
Transparency now accompanies the buildings of distilleries: just remember this
Swedish example. Manufacturers proudly showcase the innermost insides of their production facilities, striving to bring a bit of alchemy to the "legends" of their brands: retorts, distillation stills, glitter of glass and copper, but at the most modern technological level - see for yourself.
The idea of transparency found its highest embodiment in the building of greenhouses. Their frame of wriggling metal supports (with built-in pipes for circulating hot air - a byproduct of the gin distillation process) is filled with 793 glass fragments, and the greenhouses appear as a ghostly vision against the backdrop of mundane brick "decorations".
Here are the ten types of plants that are traditionally used to flavor the drink: Mediterranean spices in one, tropical in the other. The increased focus on design is part of Bombay Sapphire's image, it has featured prominently in its advertisements and is particularly interested in glass design options: the Bombay Sapphire Designer Glass Competition is held annually on this topic.
In Heatherwick's project, like in a pot still, tradition, ambition and technology met to emerge from there a transformed and beautiful architectural reality.
