Work continues on site at The Macallan Estate in Speyside

Work continues on site at The Macallan Estate in Speyside as the new iconic whisky distillery and visitor centre emerged out of the ground. The Macallan Estate, which overlooks the River Spey, will be the new home to The Macallan which is scheduled to open to the public in spring 2017.

Designed by RSHP, on behalf of The Edrington Group, the new building will provide a facility capable of increased production and will be fundamentally flexible to meet the growing and future demands of the distillery. The industrial nature of the building's function is sensitively accommodated within a series of grass-covered undulating roof forms that are sensitive in scale and materiality, complementing and reinforcing the unique sense of place that currently exists in this Area of Great Landscape Value (AGLV). The site maximises the opportunity of level changes across the site by physically 'embedding' the facility within the sloping ground and leaving the distinctive roofline to be announced from afar. Only 500mm of concrete will be exposed upon completion.

The inspiration behind the landscape expands upon and celebrates the unique and familiar characteristics of the area that so successfully marry the natural with the industrial, combining the natural elements of water, stone, sun and barley - elements so inherent of the whisky making craft. A series of new outdoor experiences and dramatic arrival spaces send visitors on a dynamic journey through the landscapes that unfurl and reveal the built form beneath them.