Westland Distillery
Skagit Valley , WA
Phase one is complete on Westland Distillery’s new 80-acre facility in Skagit Valley, featuring three 13,000-square-foot concrete rack houses for the storage, aging, and maturation of the company’s American single malt whiskey. Upward Architecture’s design emphasized unconditioned and passively ventilated spaces. Like Scottish distilleries, thermal mass from the building’s tilt-up concrete walls supported on conventional concrete spread footings tempers the valley’s temperature swings.
Each building measures approximately 260 x 60 feet and includes a wood-framed roof supported over premanufactured steel scissor trusses. Roof overhangs at the entries protect workers during barrel loading and unloading, while bold red doors and signage align with Westland’s branding.
Jacobson Engineering and Associated Earth Sciences designed a series of underground injection control wells to manage stormwater. This process reintroduced runoff to the underlying aquifer without harming Skagit Valley’s topsoil.
In addition to whiskey production, Westland Distillery dedicated portions of its property to sustainable agriculture research and organic barley farming. Westland collaborated with WSU Breadlab and sponsored a doctoral student research fellowship.
As demand grows, Westland Distillery anticipates constructing eight more rack houses over the next two or three decades.
Additional Information
IMAGE CREDITS
Doug Scott Photography
