Clynelish Distillery Visitor
Centre
The Clynelish Distillery Visitor Centre has been constructed as part of Diageo’s £185 million investment in Scotch Whisky Tourism.
The project stands as the Highland Home of Johnnie Walker alongside the four corners, Coal Ila, Glenkinchie and Cardhu.
Location: Clynelish, Brora
Client: Diageo PLC
Cost: £4.7m
Completion: 2021
Blyth & Blyth were the Lead Consultant, Principal Designer and Civil & Structural Engineers on the project to create a new brand home with the finish required for the experiential fit out lead by BRC Imagination Arts. Blyth & Blyth were supported by MLA Architects and Thomson Bethune as cost consultant.
The works involved the alteration and refurbishment of the existing Visitor Centre, converting these to a new retail experience with additional storage and staff accommodation.
A new Visitor Centre was constructed to bridge over the existing structure and provide visitors with a bar and tasting venue that enjoys the scenic views.
The new structure included the provision of the new experiential, immersive, rooms and the provision of upgraded rest and tasting facilities.
Key challenges
The provision of a world class facility within the constraints provided by both the position on site and budget requirements.
The limited budget required attention to detail to enable the refurbishment of the existing ground floor masonry structure to have a natural flow with the addition of the bar and experiential rooms above.
The new structure required careful planning and design coordination to ensure foundations could be placed without the need to divert significant services that were required to keep the process buildings functioning. The proximity to the existing TUN room was also a constraint that required consideration and review of proposed fire strategies with the Highland Council Building Control to achieved that optimal layout for the new floors while limiting costs.
Results
The end product in the provision of another world class vistor centre and significantly improved retail offering to the NC500 tour route.
The refurbishment has provided Diageo with an asset that services both visitors and locals alike.