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CORE case study · Knockando, Speyside

Permeable visitor landscapes at Cardhu Distillery

CORE DRIVE and CORE GRASS created stable, permeable surfaces across the renewed visitor landscape at Cardhu Distillery.

Client
Diageo
Sector
Visitor attraction
Location
Knockando, Speyside
Completion
Visitor experience opened June 2021
CORE components
CORE DRIVE · CORE GRASS
Completed permeable gravel landscape at Cardhu Distillery.
CORE project · Knockando, Speyside
01June 2021

Visitor experience opened

022 systems

CORE DRIVE & CORE GRASS

03Dramming garden

Renewed visitor landscape

04Speyside

Distillery setting

Project context

A landscape shaped by its purpose.

Cardhu’s visitor experience was reimagined as part of Diageo’s investment in its Scotch whisky brand homes. The Speyside distillery grounds were redeveloped with a new dramming garden, orchard and improved visitor facilities.

The landscape package used two CORE systems for different patterns of use: CORE DRIVE in the gravel café and dramming areas, and CORE GRASS within the car park.

The brief

What the project had to achieve.

Deliver robust external surfaces for the transformed visitor experience while preserving a natural landscape character in Cardhu’s Speyside setting.

  1. 01

    Visitor-ready surfaces

    The outdoor spaces needed to remain stable under regular pedestrian and vehicle movement.

  2. 02

    Permeable construction

    The surface strategy needed to retain free-draining characteristics across the external works.

  3. 03

    Rural character

    Parking and gathering areas had to sit comfortably within the Speyside landscape.

  4. 04

    Two patterns of use

    Pedestrian hospitality areas and vehicle parking required different surface responses.

CORE DRIVE installed within the circular dramming-garden landscape at Cardhu Distillery.
During construction · gravel stabilisation within the dramming garden
The CORE solution

Selected around the site—not just the surface.

CORE DRIVE stabilised gravel within the café and dramming-garden areas, while CORE GRASS reinforced the visitor parking landscape.

CORE DRIVE grids were installed through the café and dramming-garden areas before being filled and covered with the selected gravel finish.

CORE GRASS formed the cellular reinforcement within the visitor car park, supporting vehicle movement while allowing the parking surface to establish as grass.

Together, the two systems provided a consistent permeable approach across hard-working visitor areas with different visual and operational needs.

Products & quantities

Products used.

Installation

How the system was installed.

  1. 01

    Prepared external-works formation

  2. 02

    CORE DRIVE within the café and dramming-garden areas

  3. 03

    Selected gravel infill and surface finish

  4. 04

    CORE GRASS within the visitor car park

The result

The completed external works combine controlled gravel gathering spaces with reinforced grass parking, supporting visitors without losing the rural character of the distillery grounds.

Project outcomes

  • Stable gravel across café and dramming-garden spaces
  • Reinforced grass parking for visitor vehicles
  • Permeable surfaces throughout the landscape package
  • A restrained finish suited to the rural distillery setting
Project team

The people behind the project.

Client
Diageo
Contractor
Hunter Construction
Experience design
BRC Imagination Arts
Project gallery

Progress and completed work.

CORE DRIVE installation within the circular dramming garden at Cardhu Distillery.
Dramming garden during constructionCORE project archiveprogress
CORE GRASS grid installed across the visitor car park at Cardhu Distillery.
CORE GRASS within the car parkCORE project archiveprogress
Gravel-filled CORE DRIVE area beside gabion walls at Cardhu Distillery.
Café landscape during constructionCORE project archiveprogress
Technical downloads

Project and product documents.

Sources

Project sources.

  1. Cardhu Distillery & Visitor CentreDiageo
  2. Cardhu visitor experience openingDiageo
  3. The Four Corner Distillery Brand HomesBRC Imagination Arts
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