M E S H A R C H I T E C T S
Grade 1 Conservation and Contemporary Design Architects
69 Middle Abbey Street,
Dublin D01 P5Y4
01 563 9021
Slane Castle Irish Whiskey Distillery
Mesh Architects were engaged by Slane Castle Irish Whiskey to redevelop the existing, redundant 18th century range of stable and farm buildings at Slane Castle Estate as a high quality craft Irish whiskey distillery and visitor attraction, which will serve as an economic anchor for the long-term sustainable development of the estate.
In recent years the Slane Castle Irish Whiskey brand, launched in 2009, has evolved to a scale where it now requires its new headquarters to help grow the brand to international status; the agro-industrial nature of whiskey production and the historic charm and architectural heritage associated with the largely disused farmyard buildings offer an opportunity to create an outstanding new home for Slane Castle Whiskey that supports its brand ideals of heritage, provenance, sustainability and quality.
The proposed distillery, which will include malting, milling, mashing, brewing, distilling, and limited maturation facilities, is intended to provide for the production, sale and promotion of Slane Castle Irish Whiskey. The distillery will facilitate the production of Slane Castle Irish Whiskey at its place of origin and, when completed, will form an integral part of the commercial life and daily activities of the Slane Castle Estate.
A limited amount of new construction will be required to facilitate the new use without compromising the integrity of the historic buildings, the function of the distillery or the visitor experience. In this setting it is essential that an appropriate balance is struck between contemporary architectural statements and respect for the existing character of the site. MESH Architects has sought at each turn to closely integrate the new features and extensions with the original historic structures and looked to the existing scale and materials to inform the new development.
New structures will generally be sited in less sensitive areas, so as not to intrude into the historic stableyard setting. The scale and massing of the distillery extensions are very similar to that of the existing, adjacent structures and, in the case of the new milling and mashing area, will not be visible from the interior of the courtyard nor from the Castle. Where new structures will by necessity be more visible, they will be honest contemporary buildings, well suited to their purpose, and designed to stand comfortably in the historic setting and to take advantage of natural slopes to allow for visual recession.
Credits:Mesh Architects - Tom McGimsey, Sunni L. Goodson, Noel Shortt, Deirdre Keeley, Mark Monaghan, Trevor Nolan (planning stage only)
QS - Austin Reddy & Company (Emmet Jordan) Civil / Structural Engineer - Casey O'Rourke & Lisa Edden, Distillery Process Engineers - WEW Engineering, Procad Engineering, Engineering Environments
Photography / images by Mesh Architects
1
2
3
