The new home for Byron Bay Brewers, Stone and Wood was designed by Harley Graham Architects as both a gateway brewery and a meeting place.
It combines the function of everyday distilling with a ‘cellar door’ experience that is open to the public.
The brief from the brewery founders was to create a new spiritual home for the brand and to ensure its staff would feel at home.
Located in the Byron Bay Industrial Estate along Ewingsdale Road, the purpose-built premise relocated the existing brew house from Baronia Place to bring the whole family together under one roof.
Harley Graham Architects’ brief was to integrate multi-functioning spaces for the brewers, maintenance staff, administration, marketing, sales, and management teams whilst working as a gathering space/cellar door for the general public.
One of the key elements of Stone and Wood’s philosophy is its focus on community spirit.
The founders believe the true role of the brewery is to create a hub for the local community.
Their design requirements were to have more than one building onsite to create a campus feel with a central courtyard that could be enjoyed by visitors and staff alike.
They also wanted the opportunity to host cultural and fundraising events for the Northern Rivers community.
The Harley Graham Architects’ design re-works the notion of the Australian Shed – a steel and timber structure that deconstructs as it opens up to the north where the courtyard defines the entry, and greenery climbs the vertical timber screen.
This space not only provides a transition from the carpark to the building but provides an opportunity for passive and solar interventions.
The brewery is designed to be passively cooled by prevailing summer northerly winds that are captured in the courtyard and filtered through the building to the south façade where louvers expel the air.
The green courtyard/beer garden is also designed to cool the air, with misters from recycled water collection not only watering plants but filtering down to patrons enjoying their tasting paddles.
Light is filtered through the courtyard with floor-to-ceiling glass allowing natural light to flood the internal spaces unveiling the fermenter tanks and brew house behind.
From Ewingsdale Road, the ancillary brew house, which is the heart of the brewery, extrudes from the main shed.
This south-facing component boasts a glazed wall that allows passers-by to see the functioning brewery.
Where possible, efforts have been made to incorporate locally sourced and recycled materials.
For example, Camphor Laurel was supplied by the local timber mill for the vertical screen, with recycled iron bark from South East Queensland also used for external timber furniture and cladding.
Considering the service-heavy attributes of a micro-brewery, coordination of specialist consultants throughout both the design and construction was essential.
The brief was to minimize disruption of the brewing process, so a smooth transition to the new building was critical.
That’s why the structure was designed to allow the 100hL tanks to ‘roll in’ through the front doors.
In conjunction with Plummer and Smith Landscape Architects and Byron Bay Herb Nursery the landscaping celebrates the diversity of the Northern Rivers region through a series of natural habitat ‘zones’ that have inspired the stone and wood range of beers.
The hinterland, rainforest, and local bush scrub are located around the campus.
Project Details
Completion Date – 2020
Project Team
Architecture
Harley graduated from UNSW in Architecture and received the Board of Architects prize.
He was then selected to be a part of an innovative team within Lend Lease Design working on Masterplanned communities in Australia and the USA.
Soon after he traveled to Berlin, where he worked with Studio Daniel Libeskind on large mixed-use and cultural projects in Switzerland, the UK, and China. HGA was then founded in Berlin and slowly came of age in Byron Bay, Australia.
Harley has held teaching positions at UNSW, UTS and has tutored at Bond Uni.
Photography
Toby Scott
Toby is an established architecture, interiors, and lifestyle photographer based in Australia.
Andy Mac Pherson
Andy Macpherson is known for creating images that give a sense of place. He has a distinct approach to documenting people and architecture that captures truth and beauty. He believes in taking the work seriously but making the process fun.
Photo Gallery
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Design © 2022 Harley Graham Architects. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2022 Toby Scott and Andy Mac Pherson. All Rights Reserved.
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