Bjarke Ingels creates meandering eco distillery attraction for Blue Run Kentucky
by Tom Walker | 06 Apr 2023
Blue Run Spirits has released the first images of its planned distillery and visitor attraction in Georgetown, Kentucky
The company has appointed Bjarke Ingels Group’s (BIG) as the lead architect for the US$51m project
BIG's plans for the new headquarters include a 35,000sq ft distillery and a 20,000sq ft rickhouse
Blue Run, a company specialising in bourbon and rhye whiskies, launched in October 2020
Blue Run Spirits has released the first images of its planned distillery and visitor attraction in Georgetown, Kentucky, US.
Blue Run, a company specialising in bourbon and rhye whiskies, launched in October 2020 and appointed Bjarke Ingels Group’s (BIG) as the lead architect for the US$51m project.
BIG's plans for the new headquarters include a 35,000sq ft distillery and a 20,000sq ft rickhouse.
Called ‘Meander' the designs evoke the journey of the limestone-rich water of Georgetown’s Royal Spring as they meander through the distillation, aging, and blending process to become the Blue Run bourbons and rye whiskeys.
The project is set to break ground later this year, with an opening planned for 2025.
Bjarke Ingels, founder and creative director of BIG, said: "For Blue Run, we have boiled the entire process of whisky-making down to a single linear sequence – from distilling to maturing to bottling.
"The half-mile long process meanders through the gentle hillsides creating ends and banks, inlets and outlooks.
"A single, shingled roof of photovoltaic tiles twists and turns to maintain optimal orientation even as the activities underneath require grandeur or intimacy.
"In the same way the Georgetown Spring is shaped but how the water flows through it, Bue Run Distillery is shaped by the flow of the whisky and the processes and people who make it."
Blue Run Spirits CEO and cofounder Mike Montgomery, added: “We are thrilled to be able to reveal an early look of Bjarke Ingels Group’s design for the new Blue Run Spirits distillery in Georgetown, giving everyone a glimpse at where we are heading in developing a welcoming, unexpected and modern facility with a true focus on sustainability.
“This will be a game-changing addition to Blue Run’s long-range business plans, allowing us to meet forecasted and unforeseen demand, while also giving our Whiskey Director Shaylyn Gammon and Liquid Advisor Jim Rutledge a home base of operations.
“Design is at the center of everything we do at Blue Run – from our liquid to our bottle to our new distillery.
“The design BIG has developed is in dialogue with the landscape, the meandering path to making whiskey and a manifestation of the bold, distinct and inviting ethos that signifies Blue Run Spirits.”
Bjarke Ingels Blue Run Kentucky
Credit: BIG
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