Titsey Brewery - Context & Design Thinking
We recently completed the design and redevelopment of Clarks Lane Farm for Titsey Brewing Co in Westerham, Kent. For us, this is a fascinating project because it merges interior and architectural design to create both a functional brewing space and a smart, but laid-back taproom experience for customers. The objective was to transform the existing agricultural barns into a commercial brewery and a taproom with areas for hosting events. Nestled in the North Downs, the brewery boasts stunning views from every angle, prompting us to devise a solution that harmonises with the landscape in functionality, proportion and material choice.
Brewing is A Fitting History
The Titsey Estate has a rich history, some of which related to brewing. We wanted to delve into and understand the heritage of the Estate which felt crucial to making the taproom and brewery feel like a natural fit. The Titsey Estate is one of the largest surviving historic estates in Surrey and the families who have lived there have been among the county’s most powerful residents. In 1534 the estate was acquired by Sir John Gresham; a member of one of the most prominent merchant dynasties in Tudor England and later named Lord Mayor of London. His family symbol, the Gresham Grasshopper, is still visible in prominent locations around London today, including above the Royal Exchange in the City of London which was founded by his nephew Sir Thomas Gresham. In 1992 the Estate passed to David Innes, who became the Governor of the Titsey Foundation, which is responsible for the house and surrounding parkland. The Innes family have links to the brewing trade both through John Topham-Richardson, one of the major nineteenth century Southwark hop merchants as well as the Reids of Watney, Combe Reid & Co.
Understanding technical requirements of the brewing process
The project really required a hands-on and technical approach. Developing the site was extremely challenging because it is in an area of outstanding natural beauty and significant enhancements were necessary for water, power and drainage. The site is now supplied by a new freshwater borehole, unique to the brewery, and a bespoke drainage system was designed and installed to handle the complex waste generated by the brewing process. Brewing is very energy intensive, so the building design includes efficiencies in construction, to minimise heating and cooling demands. In addition, the client required the scheme to include micro-generation in the form of solar PV as well as EV charging for staff and customers.
Giving a concrete frame a new life
The original building was an asbestos-clad agricultural building. Not the most beautiful of things, but we still needed to take into account how it sat within the landscape and consider the sensitivity of planning constraints in an AONB. We decided to keep the bones of the building, the concrete portal frame, and clad it in a silvery timber, FSC-certified Larch with a Scandinavian silica coating that stays true for the life of the material, which can be from 50-100 years. This gave a similar, albeit more architectural, aesthetic to the original building which helped us to ease the project through planning.
Customers want to see the stills and kegs
The design of the brewery and taproom is purposefully open plan to strike the balance between the customer and operational sides of the business. While pubs are often experience-led or themed, tap rooms are product-led. The customer expects to be immersed in the production. Customers want to consume the product in the environment in which it is produced and we wanted to ensure the site feels transparent and authentic - where everything is on show, putting production front and centre.
The project's design principles were sustainability, efficiency, quality, longevity and value, so we selected materials on the basis that they were fit for purpose and built to last. The scheme also maximises natural light, reducing the demands on artificial lighting, and includes natural and mechanical ventilation to control temperature and moisture. The interior uses a range of sustainable materials, for example, tiles from Mosa, which are high quality and fully recyclable, and Graphenstone, a breathable, washable paint with no VOCs, which is ideal for high moisture areas. Feature lighting was refurbished and supplied by Skinflint, who have a scheme called full circle – a take back system designed to keep high quality fixtures in use to avoid waste.
Circular design makes environmental and commercial sense
The Titsey Brewing Co has proven to be one of the more architectural hospitality projects we’ve taken on, and whilst it’s not a ‘luxury’ space, it does make use of both our architectural and design knowledge. I enjoyed the challenge of creating a space that ‘it is what it is’ – a working brewery, but finding ways to ensure the customer experience is authentic but also refined. It was good to work with people who could see both the environmental and commercial sense of using circular design principles to design a robust space that would stand the test of constant use.