Westland Distillery
Westland Distillery Project Location
Seattle, WA
Project Area
13,000 SF
Project Synopsis
This adaptive reuse of a timber warehouse structure, built in 1914 and originally used for manufacturing cranes by Seattle’s Ederer Crane Company, is the new home of Westland Distillery. The design team focused on weaving the guest tour experience seamlessly into the fermenting and distillation processes, offering guests a unique perspective on the time-honored art of making whiskey. Behind an elegant yet raw tasting bar and whiskey library, the facility houses a 6,000-liter mash house and a world-class still room comprised of a 7,560-liter wash still and a 5,670-liter spirit still. The barrel room holds upwards of 100 barrels waiting to be filled and aged in Westland’s Rackhouse on the Olympic Peninsula. Staff offices are located on the mezzanine, above a state-of-the-art climatecontrolled QC lab. Materials such as reclaimed, rough-hewn timber and raw steel were utilized to respect the owners’ family history in the logging industry and to recall the existing warehouse timber structure. As an adaptive reuse project, the design team felt it was important for the distillery to reflect Westland’s commitment to environmental stewardship. The distillery exposes much of the original warehouse, framing and emphasizing the original timber structure as you move through the space. The reclaimed wood panels and fins on the entry walls came from a demolished warehouse at the Boise Cascade Lumber Mill in Yakima, WA., embodying the owner’s family history in the logging industry. Spent grain from the brewing process is repurposed as cattle feed for local farmers, and energy from the distillation process is recaptured through a heat exchanger before discarded - as fresh as it was from the tap.
Westland Distillery Floor Plan
Westland Distillery Section
production bay
crushing room
grain silo
still room
reception
entry
Westland Distillery Section
Seattle, WA
Project Area
13,000 SF
Project Synopsis
This adaptive reuse of a timber warehouse structure, built in 1914 and originally used for manufacturing cranes by Seattle’s Ederer Crane Company, is the new home of Westland Distillery. The design team focused on weaving the guest tour experience seamlessly into the fermenting and distillation processes, offering guests a unique perspective on the time-honored art of making whiskey. Behind an elegant yet raw tasting bar and whiskey library, the facility houses a 6,000-liter mash house and a world-class still room comprised of a 7,560-liter wash still and a 5,670-liter spirit still. The barrel room holds upwards of 100 barrels waiting to be filled and aged in Westland’s Rackhouse on the Olympic Peninsula. Staff offices are located on the mezzanine, above a state-of-the-art climatecontrolled QC lab. Materials such as reclaimed, rough-hewn timber and raw steel were utilized to respect the owners’ family history in the logging industry and to recall the existing warehouse timber structure. As an adaptive reuse project, the design team felt it was important for the distillery to reflect Westland’s commitment to environmental stewardship. The distillery exposes much of the original warehouse, framing and emphasizing the original timber structure as you move through the space. The reclaimed wood panels and fins on the entry walls came from a demolished warehouse at the Boise Cascade Lumber Mill in Yakima, WA., embodying the owner’s family history in the logging industry. Spent grain from the brewing process is repurposed as cattle feed for local farmers, and energy from the distillation process is recaptured through a heat exchanger before discarded - as fresh as it was from the tap.
Westland Distillery Floor Plan
Westland Distillery Section
production bay
crushing room
grain silo
still room
reception
entry
Westland Distillery Section
