Bedford Brewery
Bedford, NH

Rendering: Richard Desjardins

Working with a small triangular site on a state highway led to many challenges when trying to locate a 10,000 SF +/- building with associated exterior equipment and parking. The ideal location was at the southern part of the triangle in the corner where the boulder retaining wall is at its tallest at about 16’. Another challenge we faced was locating and designing the entrance to the building in a way that would invite the public in. With the owner’s initial design concept of a modern barn, we designed a monumental gable ended volume with glass from grade to the ridge with the idea of becoming a beacon for the brewery. The thought process behind orienting the entrance perpendicular to Route 3 was to force the public to experience the building from the parking lot and allow for a direct access point from the sidewalk to encourage more walkability in the area.

The overall goal of this project was to use the modern barn aesthetic the owners were drawn to and create a one-of-a-kind brewery. The gable end barn is a statement New England form and modernizing it for a brewery was no easy task. We started with a standard barn form and we pushed and pulled the proportions to alter the mass to a tall, narrow, continuous form. With this becoming our focal point as an entrance and tall enough for the breweries 16 tank aisle while allowing for them to grow for future needs. With an extensive program adding two wing buildings off the central mass was imperative and pulling from the barn typology they were given shed roofs and proportions exaggerated to provide clear space for the brewery and enough square footage for a tasting room, a substantial production area, a lab, and staff area.