Project Details.

Location: Midlothian, Scotland
Construction Value: Not Disclosed
Client: Secret Herb Garden Ltd. & Secret Garden Distillery Ltd.

The Secret Herb Garden is located to the South of Edinburgh, at Lothianburn just off the A702 on the Old Pentland Road.

Co-founded by Hamish and Liberty Martin in 2014, The Secret Herb Garden is an award-winning herb nursery and was conceived as a place that offers an immersive experience, where people “can open the door to the magic of herbs”. The Garden is completely inclusive, allowing families to visit and explore freely, surrounded by herbs, plants and nature.

A few years later in 2017, the Old Curiosity Distillery gin brand was established as an outlet for the horticultural produce from the garden and an ancillary operation to the Secret Herb Garden. Having successfully executed a number of projects at the Secret Herb Garden, Block Nine were appointed to prepare design proposals for a new state-of-the-art Visitor Centre & Distillery as a composite building to replace several poor quality, fragmented structures.

The primary intention was for the new proposals to be developed largely within the existing footprint of the current facilities - though it was agreed that by extending to the front and side, facilities such as shop, lobby & WCs could be incorporated. Central to the accommodation requirements and unique to the Secret Garden Gin, is the Drying Room - integral to the distillation process - where herbs are dried out in a controlled environment. This area is to become part of the visitor experience and will be screened behind full height glass panels in the visitor entrance.

Split into 3 bays, the single storey proposals take the form of a traditional agricultural barn, in-keeping with its rural context. This simple form also allows for good internal flexibility, with the primary portal frame structure taking the vast majority of the structural loads.

Due to the nature of the development there is minimal glazing. However the primary expanse of glazing to the South façade will maximise solar gain in the Winter months. Photovoltaic panels will also be installed on the roof of the proposal to the South-East .

Externally the building will be largely clad with a dark green aluminium cladding with standing seam detailing on both walls and roof. Concealed box gutters will also be recessed into the roof profile.

We believe the design proposals are sensitive to the surrounding context, embracing the local, rural vernacular with a contemporary edge captured in the detailing. The new distillery will exist as the heart of the Secret Herb Garden, showcasing the process of distilling, from growing the herbs on site through to the subsequent stages:

HARVESTING > DRYING > DISTILLING

Ultimately it is our client’s wish to be able to share their love of all things natural, educating people of all ages and raising their awareness of and involvement in the wonders of botanicals and the natural world.