Jim Swan House     Komoro, Nagano, Japan

Located next to Komoro Distillery, Jim Swan House is a two-building whisky maturation warehouse named after the Dr Jim Swan, who was the mentor of Ian Chang, Master Distiller of the Komoro Distillery, and was also known as the Einstein of the whisky world. In a forest created to minimize residual soil emissions, the distiller required a special environment that encapsulates the forest environment for maturation, which is critical for the flavor of the whisky. There were large temperature fluctuations to nurture the diversity of the whisky, high humidity to keep the casks not dry, and a microclimate to protect the fungal species that live in the soil. The architecture for this was built as if to gently scoop out the surrounding forest environment. The ultra-lightweight structure with minimal foundations was built without scaffolding, with materials brought in from a limited loading ramp in the forest. It is a balloon-like architecture made of metal sheets molded into an arch shape on site. Whisky is indeed nurtured here, matured in the natural forest.

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