In 2014, the gin maker Bombay Sapphire commissioned Heatherwick Studio to build the company’s first in-house distillery. The construction site was formerly a water-powered paper mill in Hampshire, and it consisted of more than forty unattended buildings. Most of these structures were of historical importance, so they have also been restored as part of Heatherwick Studio’s project.
Heatherwick Studio took the river Test as a reference for the site’s plan. Studio has widened the river more than twice its original size and opened new banks that lead visitors through the site to the planted foreshores. Bombay Sapphire Distillery is one of the buildings standing near the river. The distillery offers an authentic experience for visitors with its two glasshouses containing 10 exotic plant species.
Connected to two separate windows of the still house, each greenhouse provides the opposite climate features. That is, one contains a humid tropical environment while the other shows dry temperate Mediterranean climate features. Thanks to the connection to the still house, the waste heat from the distillation process is recycled to sustain a warm temperature for the greenhouse. Moreover, the distillery is the first facility in the drinks manufacturing industry to achieve BREEAM’s ‘outstanding’ rating for its sustanability.
