Cover story in WHISKY MAGAZINE September 2022

Translated from the original French

Interview by François de Guillebon

In the summer of 2024, ili distillery will become the 12th and smallest whisky maker on the Isle of Islay. A long-time project imagined by its owners Scott McLellan and Bertram Nesselrode of Gearach Farm, the distillery will rise inland near the shores of Loch Gearach, not far west of Port Charlotte - a drum-shaped building, visible from the road but which seems to fade and blend into its surroundings when approached. Alan Higgs, the architect of this project, talks about the genesis and the concept of this sustainable distillery.

How would you define the architecture of Scottish distilleries?

The typology of Scottish distilleries is very diverse, from simple converted agricultural outbuildings to high-tech modernist icons, passing through urban industrial spaces or vast establishments of large-scale industry. The island of Islay experienced strong growth in the number of its distilleries in the 19th century. For the most part, these are functional agroindustrial buildings devoid of ornamentation, such as granaries, maltings, kilns, warehouses and cellars ‒ constituting a type of vernacular "sheds" of rectilinear plan, with gable roof and visible kiln chimney flues. The walls are often whitewashed and the roofs gray, and emphatic signage proudly proclaims the brand produced within the building. Although these buildings are not strictly synonymous with “factory” or “industry”, their undoubtedly intentional architecture is straight to the point. Many of them express the reality of their construction in several stages over the years.

Several Islay distilleries display the “Doig ventilator”, a chimney whose characteristic pagoda shape indicates the malting house and its kiln. Designed in 1889 by Charles Doig, architect and public works engineer, it owes its existence to practical reasons, but remains a potent aesthetic statement. Gravel mortar masonry or its liming has unknown origins, which may be an early or quirky aesthetic associated with the villages of Argyll.

What were the specifications of the ili distillery?

The ili logo is inspired by the prehistoric standing stones that dot Islay. It pays homage to the organic shapes shaped by centuries of exposure to the weather on this beautiful windswept island. This will be Islay's newest distillery, but "ili" is the oldest known name for the island; the brand is part of the history and identity of Islay and intends to pay tribute to them. Our client wanted the new building to blend harmoniously into its environment, taking into account the shapes of the old buildings and the island landscape. The choice of materials should reduce the visual impact of the building by taking up the neutral colors of the landscape.

Inside, floor-to-ceiling windows open out to glorious vistas of Loch Gearach. This brings the outdoors inside and reminds the visitor that the constituent elements of whisky come from the lands surrounding. The harmonious integration of the different whisky production phases into the tour circuit aims to deindustrialise the production processes in the eyes of the visitor and magnify the beauty of the copper equipment in an atmosphere perceived as natural.

In a few lines, how is the project characterized?

Our client wanted the architectural project to be characterized by:

An exceptional visitor welcome
An immersive and shared discovery of the production phases in complete transparency: a reduced "back room"
Built volumes honoring the whisky and highlighting it
Surfaces that reflect the passage of the sun
A balance between intimate or impressive spaces, intelligently linked to the exterior panoramas
A “visitor experience” like no other, à la mode ili.

Visible up close, but not from afar, the distillery is rather spectacular? What is the intended objective?

The location of the distillery in the landscape is carefully chosen; it is identifiable from the road but, 150 meters away, its presence remains subtle, not imposing. Due to its location on a prow, it appears as one level facing the road and the public domain, with the lower floor concealed. The building is more open to the north. Its plan follows the configuration of the land and reduces the excavation depths accordingly.

Its characteristics include:

A natural, organic integration of the building into the lyrical landscape that surrounds it
A form unrelated to the generic typology of the “factory”
A composition offering neither rear facade nor front facade, but approaching all directions equally
Elevations that respond to functions, aspects and perspectives
Massing that takes into account the theatricality of contour lines
Attention to the presence of wind, rain, clouds, vegetation and changing reflections on the surface of the loch
The reception of the sun and the light

It's very different from what we've seen on Islay so far...

Yes, the plan embodies a break with the usual type of distillery that prevails in Islay. Partly because it's set in agricultural space inland, not by the sea, and partly because we were inspired by circular island buildings like Bowmore Church, iron age brochs and medieval duns, lighthouses, and a unique building at Kilchiaran Farm, dating from 1820 but still fit for purpose today – a semi-circular cow barn. We gave our building the shape of a drum. Its large diameter minimizes the internal limitations specific to this shape and its effect on the outside for a close observer is to have the walls recede. This consequently reduces the apparent masses and scale.

The roof is a single-pitched disc, with the slope descending from south to north. Its inclination naturally and harmoniously follows the slope of the land below. The stone walls are made of rubble recovered from disused agricultural buildings. Their solidity and their patina, their coarse textures, their natural and varied colors and forms associate the distillery with Gearach Farm. In the light of Islay, the softness of these familiar walls belies their age and purpose. The entrance is through a legible and welcoming breach in the stone wall. The gap between the top of the wall and the edge of the roof is occupied by glazing whose frame is almost black. The mullions are spaced in a narrow pattern, so that the panes of flat glass follow the curvature of the circumference above and below. To the north-east, double-height glazing illuminates the still room and affords generous views of Loch Gearach stretching beyond.

How did you work on this project?

We started by fully immersing ourselves in the vision that our clients had for their project. The owners of Gearach Farm have been thinking for some time about various potential solutions to ensure a sustainable future for their farm estate. They also believe that the traditional brands of whisky could benefit from a complementary approach, namely a spirit which would be able to attract consumers discovering the drink, a population that may be younger, less masculine, less conservative and living in developing markets. They are convinced that Gearach Farm, with its wild landscape, loch and working traditions, is the perfect place to produce this new whisky.

It is necessarily a long process of understanding the place and the project...

Yes, in-depth work has therefore been carried out to analyze the potential of a new brand, taking into account various key factors: production that respects the environment as much as possible, the size of the distillery (the smallest of Islay), a premium brand for privileged consumers. It will be energized by its links with nature and traditions. The company name ‒ ili ‒ is the oldest known name for the island of Islay. Its logo is inspired by the raised stones present in the field of the farm, on the island and elsewhere. These prehistoric megaliths were likely meeting places that connected our ancestors to the natural world; they are venerable markers of the passage of man in the landscape.

We then considered siting options. There are many factors involved and extensive research and consideration was given to potential locations for a distillery and its outbuildings within the Gearach Farm estate. Three were studied in detail and the one offering the optimal conditions was selected.

How would you define this new distillery?

We can define this building in different ways that can be synthesized by a commentary on the interior spaces.

At the entrance level, on the right there is a reception desk, a shop and an exhibition space, on the left a café and toilets. From there, one reaches a mezzanine which serves the areas overlooking the fermentation tanks, the mash tun and the stills. The rest of the space overlooks the still room below, above which opens a view of the landscape beyond. The structure of the upper floor stops short of the exterior walls, which provides a gap in which staircases descend and light falls to illuminate the lower, darker spaces. The center of the plan is occupied by a glazed drum. Above, a large diameter circular skylight provides overhead lighting and mullions provide structural support for the roof. The drum is occupied by the main tasting room and the departure area for guided tours. The floor is designed as a moving platform: the visitor, seated at the table, descends gently to the production floor. This is a memorable theatrical mechanism that reinforces the spectacular character of the visit to ili.

Regarding the specific elements specific to distilleries (cellars, stills, fermentation tanks, etc.), how did you proceed?

A specialist is responsible for the design of production equipment. The priority given to sustainable development, for the benefit of the environment and local communities, is one of the original aspects of the project. The net zero emissions objective by 2050 promoted by government will change the future of distillation, but ili will be compliant with the new standards from day one. Powered by renewable energy sources, it will aim for carbon neutrality

Wherever possible, the construction of the building will be low carbon, through the use of raw materials sourced from the farm, including stone, laminated veneer lumber and reclaimed wood structural insulating panels, and to a very limited use of concrete, low carbon where necessary and reduced to what is structurally possible.

Since it is of the utmost importance that the barley-to-bottle circuit is environmentally friendly, ili will systematically prioritize low-carbon options in the supply chain. It is essential to minimize road traffic, pollution and the disruption they cause for the population. Operating in full transparency and with social concern, it is committed to contributing to the community and protecting the environment.