The £140million Macallan distillery on Speyside has been commended as the ‘building of the year’ at the Institute of Civil Engineers’ Saltire Awards in Edinburgh.
The distillery, which opened in June this year, is sunk into slopes on the Easter Elchie estate overlooking the River Spey at Craigellachie, and was built by Elgin-based construction firm Robertson.
More than 500,000 tonnes of earth was moved for the project in order to create the building, which has an undulating grass-covered roof.
The complex timber top has about 380,000 individual components that move according to the conditions inside the distillery.
Commenting on the distillery at the time of opening, Ian Curle, chief executive, said “This is an exciting occasion for Edrington and The Macallan. The unsurpassed quality of The Macallan is in high demand and we face the future confidently with this new distillery. It’s an authentic, abiding, ambitious investment that will match consumer expectations for generations to come.
“We expect this new Macallan enterprise to deliver significant benefits for the tourism industry, Scotch whisky exports, and the economy.”