Project Focus: Eastern Kille Distillery, Rockford, Mich.

by David Flaherty | 19 June 2025 4:32 pm

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The cathedral-style sloping roof of Eastern Kille Distillery creates an unparalleled experience for the visitor in most other tasting rooms or restaurants. Built along the picturesque White Pine Trail[2], nestled among the forest, the 28-foot-tall glass curtain wall offers relaxing views of the natural world while sipping a custom cocktail crafted with Eastern Kille’s award-winning whiskey, gin, rum, and vodka. This building was designed by Mathison | Mathison Architects, and constructed by Wolverine Building Group, utilizing Nucor Building products. This 1,275-m² (13,722-sf) building offers retail, restaurant, outdoor dining, production, distribution, and storage for the small-batch distillery.

This project’s pre-engineered metal building (PEMB) structure utilized a less conventional 12/12 roof slope. This simple adjustment to a typical low-roof sloped PEMB frame provided additional interior volume, a more significant building presence, and a modernized architectural form. Simple architectural planning arrangements allowed the PEMB structure to perform well above its typical functional performance.

Architecturally, the conceptual goal was to create a unified building form to bridge the tasting room and visitor experience with the distilling production/aging process. The new facility allows Eastern Kille Distillery to accomplish its primary goal of maintaining 100 per cent of its production on-site. A simple yet bold gable expression organizes distilling, barrel storage, tasting room, restaurant, and customer experience, all within an efficient PEMB steel frame. The exterior is finished with dark bronze insulated metal panels and natural wood, allowing the building to blend into its natural surroundings. The interior finishes welcome guests inside with contrasting touches of warm, minimalist details utilizing wood and concrete. The visitor experience is at all points directly connected to the natural site with walls of glass, an intersecting breezeway, and a
multi-functional outdoor venue space.

Utilizing a Nucor product allowed the team to create an efficient building system for Eastern Kille Distillery. The building required space for the distillery, liquor storage, a commercial kitchen, a bar, and a restaurant. Combined with natural wood, the metal building can be erected quickly, providing flexibility. It allows the building to be visually perceived as one entity.

Owner: Eastern Kille Distillery, Rockford, Mich., easternkille.com

Architect: Mathison | Mathison Architects, Grand Rapids, Mich., mathisonarchitects.com

General contractor and metal installer: Wolverine Building Group, Grand Rapids, Mich., wolvgroup.com

Metal building manufacturer: Nucor Building Systems, nucorbuildingsystems.com

IMPs: Falk Panels, Grand Rapids, Mich., falk.com

Source URL: https://www.metalconstructionnews.com/projects/retail/project-focus-eastern-kille-distillery/

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