With August 7th marking National Lighthouse Day, we thought we’d look back at one of our most memorable projects, the Benbecula Distillery Lighthouse.
Lighthouses have long been a symbol of safety, security and protection. Sending out light to weary sailors and tired ships to warn of danger and prevent them from running ashore, their warm glows also provide a timely message that no sea is too stormy to traverse.
One of our favourites, though is a little more modern and serves a different purpose. Found on the Outer Hebrides as part of Benbecula Distillery, this lighthouse houses the distillery’s pot still.
Working alongside sustainable distillery specialists and lead architects Organic Architects, Gray and Dick were tasked with creating the glass lighthouse structure.
We started by building the frame from our base in Clydebank ensuring it was inch perfect for the glass panels.
The deconstructed frame was then transported over 250 miles to Uist on the Isle of Benbecula before being reassembled using a Raico glass carrier system.
All glass panels were installed at 26 degrees. This not only allowed for the flat panels to create the cylindrical shape associated with traditional lighthouses, but also to reflect light at different angles based on the lighting arrangement.
The landmark lighthouse and its structure was created and designed as a nod to the island’s rich maritime history - the distillery was a crab processing factory in a previous life - as well as a beacon of things to come in the future, with the Scottish spirits industry and whisky tourism going from strength to strength.
