Back at Crisp Malt’s Distilling Seminar

On 29 April, I returned to the Port of Leith Distillery in Edinburgh to speak at my second Crisp Malt learning day.

Last year, I gave a fairly high-level overview of the work we do at Organic Architects. This time, knowing how much practical distilling knowledge there would be in the room, I decided to get down into the weeds: taking one project from start to (almost) finish to explore the decisions that need to be made along the way.

The brief was to adapt an existing distillery to effectively double production, improve energy and water efficiency, and incorporate current health and safety best practice. A genuinely complex challenge, made all the more interesting by a client determined that the changes should not come at the expense of the site’s character.

Increasing production is not simply a matter of finding space for more equipment. It means considering how the whole site works, what needs to change and what is worth retaining. In an existing distillery, those questions are closely intertwined.

The talk explored many of the decisions made before a planning application is even submitted, then followed them through design and into delivery. Rather than simply presenting a set of drawings or photographs, I wanted to share the thinking behind the project: the options considered, the competing priorities and how early decisions play out when the work reaches site.

There were insightful talks throughout the day, including updates from the Crisp team on the barley crop and what it means for distillers. It was also a valuable opportunity to compare notes with people approaching the same industry from different perspectives.

Thanks to the Crisp team for inviting me back, and to Port of Leith Distillery for hosting. For anyone fortunate enough to receive an invitation to a future learning day, I would thoroughly recommend it.