Commercial Architecture and Master Planning | Experiential Graphics | Distillery Design | New Construction and Adaptive Re-Use
Louisville, Kentucky : Completed 2018
“We could not be more impressed with this facility that you’ve built here. It’s absolutely a modern monument to our legendary industry.”~ Kentucky Distillers’ Association President Eric Gregory
AWARDS
• 2019 Kentucky AIA Award Winner
• 2018 Grand Award Winner, Metal Construction News' 2018 awards program
PUBLICATIONS
• World-Architects.com, March 2021, "US Building of the Week"
• Louisville Business First, Aug. 3, 2018: “Rabbit Hole Distillery Opens for Public Tours”
• Distillery Trail, August 10, 2018: "Rabbit Hole Distillery Has Just Opened Up Its Urban Bourbon Cathedral to the Public"
• Nightclub & Bar, Jan. 9, 2018: “Falling down the Rabbit Hole to modernize bourbon”
Project Description
Into an industry and a city steeped in traditions, the client introduced Rabbit Hole Distillery, a modern, metal-clad, 55,000-SF spirits distillery designed for transparency and sustainability and based upon a “form follows process” concept: Form and floor plan took shape in direct response to the bourbon production process, establishing an illuminating path for public tours and showcasing the 48-foot-tall copper still. The building is composed of glass, metal, and blackened wood louvers. The louvers identify the transparent manufacturing atrium where the bourbon is produced. A wood-enclosed courtyard and large lenticular sign define the main entrance. The glass walled “Overlook” events space and balcony crown the distillery and conclude tours.
Credits
Architecture and Interior Design: pod architecture + design Douglas Pierson, design principal and project manager Youn Choi, design principal
Signage, Wayfinding and Building Graphics: pod architecture + design, PLLC
Photography: pod architecture + design; Rabbit Hole Distilling, PLLC ; Gretchen Bell photography, done by Steve Grider, Cindy Barclay, Prodigy Construction