Robin Ellis, senior designer, Graven, on visually translating whisky, low impact materials & redefining the tour experience for Port of Leith Distillery.

When it comes to experiential design, Robin Ellis and the Graven team truly know how it's done.

For a recent project, crafting the interiors of the Port of Leith Distillery - the first vertical distillery in the UK - inspiration was taken from the breathtaking views, and the complex flavour profile of whisky itself, resulting in an engaging, immersive destination like nowhere that exists elsewhere.

From the utilisation of cork - a nod to casks and bottles, bold branding, and much celebration of the surrounding location, every element of the Distillery's nine-storeys is unique, offering an individual purpose and ambience that culminates in an overarching new way of understanding one of Scotland's largest exports.

Keen to get into the nitty gritty of the Port of Leith Distillery project, we caught up with Robin to discuss how it came about, who collaborated on the process, what drove the material choices, and how sustainability factored - all to redefine, at the client's request, what a distillery tour could, and should, be. Delve into the creative process with us...

Firstly, can you please introduce us to Graven?

“Graven is a design consultancy based in Merchant City in Glasgow. We specialise in working with businesses on their brand – understanding their needs and how best to deliver them. Our team is made of designers working throughout areas of design including but not limited to architecture, interiors, graphics and design thinking.

“For example, we work with universities, implementing design thinking strategies at their highest levels across a whole organisation, developing guidance documents for their teams.

“We also work with universities on implementing design thinking strategies at their highest levels across a whole organisation, and we may come up with building guidance documents for their teams as part of this.

“We wear many hats, but we're all designers first and foremost. And I think that makes for a really collaborative environment and an exciting place to work.

“We've been in Merchant City for 39 years. Graven was founded by two graduates from Glasgow School of Art, Janice Kirkpatrick and Ross Hunter, a graphic designer and architect. Our third director, Kirsty Mazzolini Lang, is an interior designer, it's a collaboration of multiple design disciplines.

“There are 20 of us now, and we work on projects all over the world – from Europe to the Far East, Northern Africa, North America and of course throughout the UK and locally here in Glasgow too. We work across many sectors – a large portion of our work is in hospitality and workplace, then we also have clients in the third sector, healthcare, universities and PBSA. It’s a cross section.

“We connect with clients in many ways, it could be someone one of us met 10-years ago, or a client we’ve worked with on one job that involves us in something else such as a retail client we have who is now in need of a workspace.

“I'm from Canada, and I've been in Glasgow since 2016. I've worked primarily in architecture and interior design in that time, and prior to that, I worked in active transport and community development and private residential. I guess that's had some influence on the way I think about projects holistically, in terms of how they impact diverse communities.”

Focusing specifically on one project in particular then, can you tell us about the Port of Leith Distillery?

“Our work with the Port of Leith Distillery was really special. They’re a start-up, but at the same time, they are experts in their industry.

“Working in distilleries and whisky in general, as a Canadian in Scotland, they are dream projects. You can’t get much more Scottish than whisky! For a practice like Graven, it's well suited to our skills, with a lot of expertise in branding and experiential design, in a project like this we’re immersing people in the client’s brand, telling a story with every space.

“In the early days, Graven was known for its nightclubs and bars, and through a distillery, you're getting to generate from just one space, many others – restaurants, bars, tasting experiences, retail. So, it’s many interesting projects all in one.

“Some whisky distilleries in Scotland have this incredible heritage simply based on where they're situated and for how long. I think there’s this preconceived notion around what a whisky distillery tour or whisky distillery experience is. As a start-up, what Port of Leith is doing is saying: This is interesting for everyone. It doesn't just have to be interesting for expert collectors, they offer something new and that’s the most authentic thing you can do with a young distillery.

“They are plugging into a rich history of whisky making, in a brand-new building. That guided a lot of the decision making in terms of the design and the experience that we created.”

Is that where the creative process kicked off?

“It came from the building itself as well as the location, Leith. We did a lot of in-depth research about the area, its history, the fact it’s still a working port right where they're located, too, it has a real industrial quality.

“The story of the distillery building itself is incredible, it's just this postage stamp of a site and the only way that they could build it was to go up. It’s also reclaimed land. Underground, there is so much existing infrastructure. So, a tower was built, nine storeys high. Not only did the architects – Threesixty Architecture and the engineers, Harley Haddow – need to account for people moving around the building, but also for these massive tanks of liquid shifting weight from one place to another, plus it's exposed to wind loads on top of all that.

“For all of those reasons, the steel structure is one of the most prominent features – so in the interiors, there was no choice but to embrace the fact that it's a really raw, industrial building by appearance, it wouldn't do it justice to cover everything up, it wouldn't be a sustainable choice either.

“We veered away from Oak, for example, which features heavily in more traditional distillery experiences. Instead, we looked to things like cork, to reference corked whisky bottles and casks.

“Against the backdrop of aluminium cladding panels and steel, the interior materials that we introduced offer some softness. along with cork, we used coloured-through MDF called valcromat. It's hard wearing, if you scratch against it, there are no outer coatings to peel off. It’s just solid the whole way through so it will always look good. Upstairs in the loft area of the bar we used wool curtains to help with the acoustics – and again to bring in these moments of softness – while still retaining that industrial appearance.

“As well as the material palette itself, the views are a gift. There are these sweeping vistas on every single floor. It was important that we take full advantage of that throughout the whole journey. So, for example, on the tasting floor, we needed a way to open the space for events across the whole floor, as well as quickly subdivide to form multiple tasting areas. The solution was essentially welding screens, PVC strip curtains. We chose a clear honey colour for the strips, reminiscent of whisky. It allows the light and those views to peek through the translucency. You still feel as though you’re up in the air and it’s a 360-degree experience.”

You’ve mentioned sustainability – was this a consideration from the off?

“Yes, it was something we agreed on at the beginning. As Port of Leith Distillery was a new business, it was important to be cost conscious, but we wanted to make sure everything would still feel high quality. That meant picking and choosing the most important ‘moments’ and only building what was absolutely necessary to achieve the experience, so nothing would be wasted and every space would work really hard."

Your creative concept was based on the flavour profiles of whisky – tell us more

“Yes, the user journey is a unique route for a tour, because you're going floor to floor to floor, each, with essentially the same floor plan, has a different experience, based on a different conceptual flavour profile.

“For the entrance space, the client wanted it to feel almost uncanny yet welcoming, which is an interesting conflict. Their reference was from a scene in Men In Black that takes place in the stark lift lobby at the MIB Headquarters. We referred to this area as the ‘liminal space’. We wanted to create some intrigue, while also softening it to suit the spirit of the client’s brand. Upon entry, guests are greeted by a floor-ceiling neon message : ‘Thank goodness you're here’. To their left, a cork wall emblazoned with the brand’s logo is a secret sliding door that conceals a cloak room for use during busy events. Two lifts whizz the guests directly up to reception on Level 6 to begin in the shop.

“For the store, the concept was a ‘workshop’ a hub of activity supporting several functions, an atelier, a depot, a showcase and a check point. When we began designing, the building was only partially built and there were stacks of cinder blocks everywhere, we used the cinder block format, but formed from cork, stacked and ratchet strapped together and topped with glass and valcromat to create the service desks. Adjustable displays line the walls, formed of twinslot shelving, custom valcromat storage units and bespoke curved cork panels, clamped together, taking reference from the riveting shed for shipbuilding that once existed on the building’s site.

“The flavour profile for the stairs was ‘circuitry’. The client takes whisky making really seriously, but they don't take themselves too seriously. We love that they are purposely nerdy, they over-label things, so on all the tables in the bar, we integrated a little engraved moment, stamping “Property of Port of Leith Distillery” on everything.

“In the tasting area, we were inspired to create a ‘laboratory’ environment as the flavour profile. This is the area where the plastic curtains feature. Rather than just the ageing process to influence the taste of their whisky, Port of Leith Distillery works with Heriot Watt University to develop barley varieties. The lab plays a dual purpose, a tasting area, and a place for the aptly labelled “quality control division” to do their best work.

“For the bar, we went through many iterations to determine how to make the biggest impact. Wanting to show off their expertise, the flavour profile for the area is ‘the archive’. It's a library, a compendium, of whisky. They're big on not just pushing their own products, but really celebrating the massive variety of whiskys available across Scotland and the world. The design process was working out how to best showcase that.

“We worked between two of the main giant windows, placing a two-storey library wall complete with a rolling ladder, this way, whether seated on the main bar floor or on the loft level - a half mezzanine – everyone is immersed in the archive.

“Mezzanines can be a challenge in restaurants and bars, there are so many Georgian or Victorian buildings, where a loft is added but feels like a lesser, an over-spill area. We've treated it as a snug, it holds its own, it's a bit softer, it's a bit more intimate. With lower lighting and lounge seating, we wanted it to feel of equal quality as the bar below, while offering something different. At the edge of the mezzanine, instead of a wall or a railing, we used webnet, a very fine aircraft cable mesh that goes from the floor to the ceiling, so visitors can look right out, unobstructed. Depending on the bar experience you're looking for, all the options offer stunning views."

How did colour feature?

“We don't typically tend to take a client’s brand colour and directly apply it onto the interiors of a building. But, in this case, the client uses this fabulous orange and it just made sense. Visitors aren’t immersed in orange, but it works its way in and out in the wayfinding, graphics and even some of the joinery. They have a great palette to work with, which was really fun.”

As well as being inspired by the landscape and industrial nature of the building, where else did you seek inspiration?

“It was a combination of speaking with people, delving into online archives and historic Leith blogs. The clients themselves had also been collecting from antique shops in the local area and had gathered all sorts of great imagery and objects, that was part of creating a room on the seventh floor, the private booking room for corporate events.

“That space is called the ‘Legacy of Leith’ room, where many of the framed artefacts are in situ telling the story of the area.

“The client has an incredible graphics team, which was a joy to work with, because it meant that we could say, okay, here's where we think all the best opportunities are for graphics, but we know that you’ll produce something amazing. It was a fantastic collaboration.”

Did you engage a broad range of the client team?

“There was a lot of client engagement. We met with different parts of their team, from their master distillers to Tamsin who looks after the tours and experience. We did a tour of their gin distillery, Lind & Lime, which informed us about how the client likes to engage visitors and how we could take it further with their new brand, in a bespoke space. Created, literally, from the ground up.

“What made the process so interesting was working directly with the two founders, Ian and Paddy and taking their personalities, the business culture that they've developed themselves with their team, and creating a space that truly reflects that.”

It sounds like a dream project!

“It really was! We agreed with the client that, as a working distillery, we would also approach the design as an evolving work in progress. We went with the approach, ‘let's try out the things that you definitely think you need, and then you can figure out what else needs to add on to that’. It’s more sustainable that way, because you're not throwing things away that aren't working. We've done that with several projects lately, recently in a workplace, we phased the design to allow them to pick and choose and keep plugging into the space as they grow.”

What else are you working on?

“We're working on quite a few projects in existing buildings, not exclusively Victorian buildings, but 20, 30, 40-years old. They still work, they're still functioning, but in terms of design, efficiency, and sustainability, they're not meeting the mark anymore.

“It’s a real challenge. You've got your beautiful historic buildings that come with their own challenges, but the ones that are more recent…that's been really interesting, finding ways to bring them up to the current standards and new ways of living and working.

“Another thing we're working on that we're really excited about is a programme we’ve launched called Wilson's Foundry. We're working with Threesixty Architecture, who we worked with for Port of Leith Distillery, as well as with Spring Thompson, a PR firm just down from us - we're all businesses that have been based in the City of Glasgow’s Innovation District – a designated several-block radius in Glasgow’s Merchant City area – for decades.

“This project involves local businesses, Strathclyde University and the Glasgow City Council working together to generate an incubator/accelerator programme, where people have the opportunity to work directly with us – inside three creative businesses – to learn from our various expertise, network with different professionals, use our tools, from boardrooms to podcasting studios to fabrication facilities. It encourages interaction between tech, hospitality, fashion, design...a whole mix.”

Is Glasgow’s design community a collaborative one?

“Yes, it definitely is. It's a really supportive design community. I think we're all just trying to push to make things better and better. That includes sharing knowledge around sustainability and trying to improve tendering processes for designers.

"At Graven, we work across architecture, interiors, graphics, branding, design thinking...and we love working with others, this city is full of talented people!"

All images courtesy of Port of Leith Distillery / Graven