Minden, NV

5,000sf - distillery & tasting room

2018

At the beginning of this project, there was no brand, there was no booze, there was only a building. A derelict former grain mill had sat in the center of the agricultural town of Minden, NV since 1906, seeing broken periods of use throughout its life. The client wanted to revive the building and reinvest in the town by hosting a competition to design a whiskey distillery within. Our intent was to imbue the experience with a sense of history, of place, and of craft. We wanted to provide patrons with unexpected ways of occupying the space, focusing on selectively cutting away layers to create surprising connections. Where existing building materials were removed, they would often be designed into a new form and stitched to the space, creating a modern architecture with a worn finish, respectful of its historical context.