Bechtel Frank Erickson Architects is currently running a pro bono design competition through the Massachusetts Brewers Guild to help brewers spatially conceptualize solutions to the challenges brought on by the pandemic and the restrictions imposed upon their businesses. Click HERE for a recording from our roundtable discussion with the guild board and jury where a finalist was chosen.
“Untold Brewing” in Scituate, MA was selected as the winner!
Roundtable participants: Jesse Widtfeldt (BFE Architects), Taylor Theriault (BFE Architects), Mark Beckler (C.E. Floyd), Ray Caruso (C.E. Floyd), Katie Stinchon (MBG), Chris Sellers (Four Star Brewing), Dani Babineau (Redemption Rock Brewing), and Adam Romanow (Castle Island Brewing).
Topics of Discussion
Untapped Potential
With “Social Distancing” and the “6’ apart rule” being the most widely adopted strategies for safety, space (area of a floor plan) is at more of a premium than ever. However, many breweries, due to the size of their brewing equipment, locate themselves in large building volumetrically but only utilize the given floor?
Is there untapped potential in the volume of brewery spaces to up their occupancy and still meet the “6’ apart” (horizontal vs. vertical) rule?
Commingling Production & Consumption
Spaces within breweries are clearly separated for function. Production areas and consumption & sales areas, while often visually connected, are not physically intertwined. The layout of these spaces is also designed for their individual function but not for the flow of people between and around them.
Does potential exist to overlap the consumption & sale areas with the production areas based on optimizing schedules, to expand upon available space for multiple uses? What, if any, issues do you see with opening production space up for customers to safely socially distance and enjoy beer?
Circulation Efficiency
Previously, having a successful brewery came with long lines of patrons. During this pandemic and social distancing guidelines people want to feel comfortable and safe, which translates to taking up more valuable floor space.
Can you identify areas where circulation has compounded or eased due to maintaining social distancing measures?
Patron Experience
The typical taproom exists as a place not only to purchase product but as a place to linger and observe, to experience the “vibe” or “spirit” of the brewery or brewer, and to sample the full variety of products available beyond what one currently enjoys. While Covid 19 and the restrictions on gatherings may have shortened the duration of the visit and removed the chance to linger, patrons still sought out their desired beer.
Does potential exist to craft an experience to convey the “vibe” and “soul” of a brewery that caters to a much shorter duration visit? What is more valuable as a consumer visiting a taproom; experiencing the environment while enjoying the product or grab and go during COVID?
Embrace Seasonality
A trend during Covid is to be outdoors because of circulation of fresh air. As the temperature begins to drop, outdoor environments will likely get less customers. What is “really” needed to maintain a comfortable experience. Instead of bringing your indoor brewery experience outdoors, embrace the seasonal changes.
Can a new experience be created with seasonal activities while embracing the changes of a Massachusetts environment and seasonality?
Perceived vs. Actual
As breweries and restaurants are allowed to serve more patrons indoors, the choice of where or how to partake falls back on the consumer per their perception of what is safe. Many patrons will still choose outside and refuse inside due to this perception of safety. Are there improvements to the physical space that will have both real and perceived impacts on safety and therefor encourage more patrons to partake in all aspects of the brewery experience. As an example, an exterior wall of closed glass vs an exterior wall that can be completely operable to bring in fresh air vs. changes to an HVAC system not seen.
What have you noticed about your patron’s tendencies?
Resiliency
Many breweries, our entrants included, are considering making spatial changes to meet social distancing requirements. Many solutions are temporary, such as tents outside, some solutions are permanent.
In hopes of creating a usable space once breweries open to full occupancy levels again, are there ways to meet the requirements of today but make changes with the future in mind?
Preparing Food On-Site
With new regulation of having to prepare food on site for consumption of alcohol, some taprooms are not set up to change their layout or setup.
What are the components needed to adapt and meet the minimum requirement to be open and serve alcohol?
Next steps
BFE will visit Untold Brewing to see first-hand the evolution of their business model as a result of the pandemic and further assess opportunities for design intervention. Our design team will then work with Untold Brewing to develop a conceptual design and schematic estimate for a constructed solution.
Keep an eye out for more posts about their work with Untold Brewing!
Questions?
For more information regarding the competition, contact Taylor Theriault at ttheriault@bfearc.com & 781-862-3313).