The new home for Byron Bay Brewers, Stone and Wood was designed as both a gateway brewery and a meeting place which combines the function of everyday distilling with a ‘cellar door’ experience that is open to the public. The brief from the founders was to create a new ‘spiritual home’ for the brand, and to sure its staff would feel at home.
Located in the Byron Bay Industrial Estate along Ewingsdale Road, the purpose built premise relocated the existing brewhouse from Baronia Place to ‘bring the whole family together’ under one roof. The brief was to integrate multi-functioning spaces for brewers, maintenance staff, office/ marketing teams, sales, and management whilst working as a gathering space/cellar door for the general public. One of the key elements of Stone & Wood’s philosophy is its focus on “community spirit” believing the true role of the brewery is to create a hub for the local community. Their design requirements were to have more than one building to create a campus feel with a central courtyard that could be enjoyed by visitors and staff alike, with the opportunity to host numerous cultural events for the Northern Rivers, such as the bushfire fundraiser earlier this year and festival of the Stone.
The design re-works the notion of the Australian Shed – a steel and timber structure that deconstructs as it opens up to the north where the courtyard defines the entry, and greenery climbs the vertical timber screen. This space not only provides a transition from the carpark to the building, but provides an opportunity for passive and solar interventions.
The brewery is designed to be passively cooled by prevailing summer northerly winds that are captured in the courtyard and filtered through the building to the south façade where louvers expel the air. The green courtyard/beer garden is also designed to cool the air, with misters from recycled water collection not only watering plants but filter down to patrons enjoying their tasting paddles. Light is filtered through the courtyard with floor to ceiling glass allowing natural light to flood the internal spaces unveiling the fermenter tanks and brewhouse behind.
From Ewingsdale Road the ancillary brewhouse (the heart of the brewery) extrudes from the main shed – this south facing component boasts a glazed wall that allows pass-byers to see the functioning brewery. Where possible, efforts have been made to incorporate locally sourced and recycled materials – Camphor Laurel was supplied by the local timber mill for the vertical screen, with recycled iron bark from South East Queensland also used for external timber furniture and cladding.
Considering the service-heavy attributes of a micro-brewery, coordination of specialist consultants throughout both the design and construction was essential. The brief was to minimize disruption of the brewing process, therefore transition to the new building was critical and the structure was designed to allow the 100hL tanks to ‘roll in’ through the front doors. In conjunction with Plummer and Smith Landscape Architects and Byron Bay Herb nursery the landscaping celebrates the diversity of the northern rivers through a series of natural habitat ‘zones’ that have inspired the stone and wood range of beers. The hinterland, rainforest, coastal health, and local bush scrub are located around the campus.
Consultants
Project Architect: Hayley Pryor
Builder: AGS Commercial
Custom Timber Carpenters: Morada Build
Town Planning: Aldersons Associates
Civil Engineering: Aldersons Associates
Structural Engineers: Westera Partners
Building Hydraulics: Moreton Hydraulics
Brewing equipment: J+T
Landscape Architect: Plummer & Smith
Landscape Consultants: Byron Bay Herb Nursery
Photographer: Tom Ferguson
Photographer: Toby Scott