Beefeater Gin Visitor Centre

London, United Kingdom

Add To Collection

Beefeater Gin Visitor Centre

London, United Kingdom

Firm

Lee Boyd

Type

Commercial › Retail Exhibition Center
Cultural › Museum

YEAR

2014

Photos

Paul Riddle Photographer Limited (6)

Summary

Lee Boyd has recently collaborated on the exciting new visitor center for Beefeater Gin at their distillery in central London, which now provides visitors an insight into the history of gin and an understanding of the process of gin-making.

A bold new extension providing a point of entry to the center links the different parts of the distillery and allows visitors to move from the exhibition floor to the stills house without interrupting the day-to-day workings at Beefeater. All images © Paul Riddle

Beefeater Gin

Beefeater Gin is the world’s number one premium gin and has been made in the heart of London for over 150 years, the only international brand to have its distillery in the capital. Beefeater is uniquely placed to call itself the Home of Gin and tell the intriguing story of the entwined history of London and Gin.

Beefeater Gin is distilled in Kennington in South London, where the new center provides visitors with an insight into the history of gin, an understanding of the process of gin-making, and an opportunity to sample the unique product itself through a series of interactive exhibition spaces within the distillery. The culmination of the experience and where visitors can see gin production is within the cathedral-like Stills House.

Lee Boyd and Four-by-Two

Lee Boyd, from Edinburgh, won a limited invited competition as far back as 2008 and joined design consultants Four-by-Two, based in both London and Edinburgh, to tackle the challenge of integrating public facilities into the industrial distillery building. The emphasis on the team was to represent the strength of the famous Beefeater brand and provide an experience that met and exceeded current expectations for such ventures.

This was the first time that Lee Boyd and Four-by-Two had collaborated and it was evident from the outset that the blend of skills and vision for the project would ensure a bold and ambitious proposition.

Challenge

The principal challenge for the design team was to address context by integrating the new visitor center into a fully functioning distillery that combines industrial buildings from different eras and sits alongside active Victorian gasometers behind the famous Oval cricket ground.

Lee Boyd was tasked with creating a new external building, providing a distinct point of entry for the center, and linking the two existing distillery buildings together with vertical circulation that would take visitors from the exhibition areas to the Stills House. Four-by-Two was to coordinate the design and interpretation of the exhibitions themselves and the integration of these within the shell of redundant parts of the distillery. Brand communication agency Contagious, also based in Edinburgh, assisted Four-by-Two on different aspects of the exhibition design.

Lee Boyd: A New Iconic Structure

Context
Neither the 19th-century red brick mercantile building nor the 20th-century brutalist concrete building forming the Kennington distillery are of significant architectural merit, but through time they have become integral to the diverse and eclectic fabric of the area, which includes the gas works and the Oval cricket ground. The introduction of a visitor center at the junction of these two buildings was seen by Lee Boyd as the catalyst for conceiving an alternative language for a 21st-century structure and in doing so avoid unnecessary pastiche.

Language
The surrounding context is not consistent and overly suggestive in terms of appropriate language and therefore the concept of a more sculptural form, achieved using a contemporary approach, provided an interesting counterpoint to the more traditional industrial forms, rhythms, and materials of the distillery and adjacent gas works.

Taking this idea further, Lee Boyd were keen for the new extension to retain an industrial sensibility and at a gentle level provide reference and resonance to the materiality of the gin stills and gas works, the geometries and rhythms of the gas works structure, the mannered façade of the 20th-century distillery building, and the hues of the 19th-century building.

Material and form
The simple tower is formed in dark precast concrete that is honest to the functions of elevator and stair, the essential elements contained within. However, the key architectural device is the over-cladding of this tower with copper-colored fins that create an ever-changing façade that has a richness via reflections, shadows, and the visual dynamic you get with repetitive elements that are protruding and not flat. As visitors walk toward and then across the front of the building, the fins change from presenting a solid appearance to one of transparency. This provides a reading of the structure behind and an understanding of the layering of fins and carriers. The carriers themselves, in contrasting stainless steel, are angled off the horizontal to the line of the tower roof and set up a ‘crisscross’ arrangement behind the vertical fins, which resonates with the diagonal braced structure of the adjacent gas works.

The form of the new extension is reinforced by the tentative connection it makes to the existing buildings. Where possible, this connection in the vertical is made with glass to permit a continuation of the existing surfaces and to allow views in an out at these lines of transition. In the horizontal, roofs and canopies are kept to a minimum. In the case of the entrance canopy, it reads as a visual extension of the mezzanine floor.

Lee Boyd’s choice of materials is inspired by both the utilitarian nature of the distillery and the industrial character of the imposing gasholder opposite, providing an arresting and very individual response to the challenges of the brief.

Four-by-Two: Visitor Experience

Entrance and retail
Four-by-Two deliberately kept many of the building’s original features for this space. The huge existing roller shutter spindles, a slightly sloping concrete floor, and exposed brick walls are all retained to maintain an industrial feel. Painted dark gray, they allow the new features to stand out, such as the red reception desk, illuminated product display walls, and, at high level, a specially created stand-out installation using Beefeater bottle tops arranged to pick out the London skyline: emphasizing the facility as the Capital's own.

The Beefeater and gin story
This is where the public really gets a chance to delve into the history of gin and how Beefeater and its founder, James Burrough, became an integral part of the gin story. This part of the visitor experience was led by brand communication agency Contagious and incorporates items from Beefeater's archives in the creation of the self-guided exhibitions. Visitors learn about the infamous Gin Lane, where the dark days of the gin began. They will also understand how the influence of travel and trade led to the discovery of new flavors and spices from around the globe and the crucial influence they had on gin production. From cocktails at the Savoy Bar, to prohibition, via the story of how Burrough made his move from chemist to master gin distiller, right through to Beefeater today, these exhibitions are designed to immerse the visitor in the story of gin and London.

The cathedral-like Still Room
At the heart of the distillery, the visitor discovers the production process and gets to taste the end result. This space has been designed to retain its industrial feel, complemented by the addition of modern touches. Glass ceilings allow views up into the cathedral vaults of the distillation hall. Illuminated graphic displays highlight the botanicals that flavor Beefeater Gin. A shuttered concrete bar-front and contrasting black glass back-bar all add to the distinctly London look and feel while visitors stir their tastes with a premium tipple.

For more information, images, and interview requests, please contact Clare O’Donnell (Practice Manager) or Alan Thomson (Director) of Lee Boyd.
Telephone: 0131 447 1818 Email: clare@leeboyd.com – alan@leeboyd.com

About Lee Boyd: www.leeboyd.com

The Lee Boyd team is committed to design excellence. The Edinburgh-based practice has a diverse range of skills and experience, demonstrated by our broad portfolio of completed projects, many of which have received awards and plaudits. Each project is carefully considered on an individual basis, with the belief that architectural ideals can be achieved in all projects, regardless of scale or budget.

Lee Boyd does not have a ‘house style’; however, our work is characterized by our contemporary approach and our desire to create architecture that is responsive to both its situation and the needs of its users.

About Four-by-Two: www.four-by-two.com

Four-by-Two is an interior design consultancy operating within the retail and leisure sectors, working with established consumer brands across Europe and the Middle East. Founded in 2002 by Bob Thwaites, the business has studios in London, Edinburgh, and the Middle East. Four-by-Two offer bespoke services for its clients ranging from concept design to design implementation and project management to create customer experiences that deliver commercial success for their clients who include: Harvey Nichols, Beefeater, Bertie, Bravissimo, Diageo, Dune, L. K. Bennett, Talisker, Phase Eight, Pied A Terre, Pernod Ricard, UKTV, USC, and Westfield.

About Contagious: http://www.contagious.co.uk/home/

Contagious were responsible for branding and interpretation throughout the visitor center, such as the still house, stairwell, and exterior.