Pritzker Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban is behind the Kentucky Owl’s distillery and visitor centre, a pyramid-shaped distillery built from wood. First proposed in late 2017, the design is like no other, sitting atop the site of a rock quarry in Bardstown, Kentucky – the World’s Bourbon Capital.
Speaking to UK-based Architecture Today, Ban – who also revealed that the timber extension to the Lviv Hospital, Ukraine’s largest hospital, was not in schematic design – said the distillery can be seen from all angles: “It was necessary to contain multiple tall pieces of equipment within it. The ideal way to meet these conditions was with a triple pyramid.”
Designed to mimic the 19th-century steel structures that dominate the bourbon industry, Ban has swapped out metal for mass timber – with cross-laminated timber used to shape the long-span structures. “This is an opportunity for us to challenge ourselves like never before,” said Dean Maltz, the former managing partner of Shigeru Ban, who spoke about the original plans in 2018. “These plans serve as our first Kentucky distillery and incorporate unique highlights and nods to the industry and its history while prioritising light and a connection to nature – features the architectural world expects from our firm.”
Dubbed the “Disneyland of Kentucky Bourbon,” Ban said the site has quite a variation in elevation, “with the design and layout of the main access, visitor centre, maturation warehouse and bottling centre were naturally decided to make the most of the characteristics of the site.”
