Whisky Distillery

The Chuan Malt Whisky Distillery, Emeishan, Sichuan, Cina, 2021 Mount Emei is one of the most profoundly spiritual places in China and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The land upon which the site sits has a rich history itself, as it was once the location of a monastery, as well as the arena of several historic battles and a stopping point along pilgrimage and trade routes. Although no built remnants remain on the site, its very emptiness is suggestive of all its fabled memories. Three years ago, we won the design competition and took up the challenge of designing a distillery and home for Pernod Ricard’s first whisky to be produced in China. Surrounded on three sides by a winding creek, the site exemplifies the Chinese notion of the duality of natural elements. Shan-shui means “mountain water”, where shan represents strength and permanence, and shui signifies fluidity and transformation. In the spirit of this philosophy, our proposal focused on the conception of a gesture whose strength lies in its humbleness and simplicity, and in its profound respect for nature. This balanced duality is manifested in the complex with the industrial buildings as a modern interpretation of vernacular Chinese architecture, and the visitor buildings as elemental geometries grounded in the terrain. Three long buildings housing the whisky production facilities are situated on the north side of the site. Parallel in formation, they are tucked into the natural gentle slope with gradually descending rooflines.

The Chuan Malt Whisky Distillery, Emeishan, Sichuan, Cina, 2021 References to vernacular architecture are expressed with the use of reclaimed clay tiles that give a humble texture to the pitched roofs resting on a modern concrete post-and-beam structure. The infill of rock walls, meanwhile, is made from boulders extracted from the ground during site leveling. In contrast to the vernacular roots of the industrial buildings, the two visitor buildings are built upon fundamental geometries: the circle and the square, which in Chinese philosophy represent heaven and earth, respectively. The round building is partially embedded in the ground and contains five subterranean tasting rooms surrounding a domed courtyard that contains a cascading water feature in the middle. The upper part of the dome emerges slightly from the ground and is surmounted by three concentric brick rings. This sculptural landform becomes an iconic presence and acts as a culminating destination from which visitors can enjoy panoramic views of the entire area. Located further down the topography, the square restaurant and bar building is cantilevered on two sides with one corner hovering over the riverbank. While the dining space is arranged along the building’s perimeter to provide open views, a central openair courtyard is oriented to frame the peak of Mount Emei. A variety of concrete, cement and stone mixtures form the base material palette, finding resonance in the strong mineral presence of the site. Accent materials, meanwhile, are drawn from those used in the craft of making whisky, such as the copper distillation pots and the aged oak casks.

The Chuan Malt Whisky Distillery, Emeishan, Sichuan, Cina, 2021 Neri&Hu Design and Research Office

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