The Project
Jamie Fobert Architects was appointed to design a new international retail concept for The Macallan, one of the world’s leading single malt whiskies.
As a brand, The Macallan celebrates its deep connection with nature. Its exceptional products are crafted from raw materials—malted barley and aged oak casks—combined with traditional methods and time-honoured craftsmanship.
Our brief was to develop a design concept that engages customers in a new way, introducing them to the brand’s ‘Nurtured by Nature’ ethos. These multi-purpose spaces use architecture, materiality, and visual merchandising to embed storytelling about The Macallan’s provenance and craftsmanship.
Beginning with the brand’s essence and origins, our first concept sketches were inspired by the structure of wood cells. Reflecting the brand’s values, this organic ‘cell’ plan also makes the design adaptable and scalable to suit the varying sizes and layouts of different stores.
Visitors to the new boutiques experience references to the four distinct microclimates of The Macallan Estate: the barley fields, the River Spey, the surrounding woodland, and the brand’s distillery and historic home at Easter Elchies House.
Whisky bottles are elegantly displayed on undulating panels that reflect the distillery’s roof design, evoking the rolling hills of the Scottish countryside. Copper walls pay tribute to the distillery’s small, elegant copper stills and reflect the whisky’s rich amber hues and complex flavours. The use of red is a nod to founder Alexander Reid’s fondness for the colour and the iconic red door of the distillery. A large stone bar references the granite rocks of Speyside.
The high-quality sherry-distilled oak casks used in The Macallan’s maturation process have been given yet another wonderful use: cut into tiles and tessellated to create a distinctive floor.
The first new boutique was completed at Raffles, Singapore in November 2023. Further completed projects include large boutiques in Hong Kong and Bogota as well as airport stores at LAX and Heathrow. A boutique and bar in Harrods and an airport store at JFK are currently in design.
To lend a sense of place, and in the spirit of collaboration and craftsmanship, local artists have been commissioned to create site-specific artworks for each boutique.