The premium Macardo distillery in Strohwilen, in the municipality of Amlikon Bissegg (canton of Thurgau, Switzerland), is unique in many ways: in addition to its internationally award-winning whiskies and fine spirits, this family-run business now also offers luxurious B&B rooms and tours.
For ETAVIS, the reconstruction and conversion project in the Macardo world of delights and experiences was also unique given the extremely prominent role played by both historic building requirements and environmental protection considerations, which posed a particular challenge for the electrical installation and construction works.
ETAVIS participated in the project with a team of 10 employees and was responsible for all the electrical planning as well as all the high- and low-voltage installations, KNX building automation, network installation, the fire alarm system, heating, ventilation and air conditioning and the access control.
Converting the existing cheesemaking dairy in line with historic building protection requirements, and realising the very particular ideas and visions for its interior design, proved to be especially interesting challenges for the ETAVIS employees and project leader Christoph Burkhart.
As well as the extremely sustainably designed distillery proper and an innovative storage area for casks, the Macardo distillery boasts a luxurious Bed & Breakfast with 10 stylish rooms and two apartments, a cigar/cocktail honesty lounge and a shop as well as facilities able to accommodate events for up to 100 people.
Sustainable and innovative – world-class!
This building is pioneering and innovative, not just architecturally but also as regards its energy and environmental arrangements: the Macardo distillery’s still is of a particularly sustainable design – one of the aims of this reconstruction project was to end the year with a net-zero carbon footprint.
To achieve that, the electricity for the boilers is generated by a 117 kWp photovoltaic power plant or, on cloudy days, by firing wood sourced in the region. With the recovery of heat from the distillation process, a closed, sustainable energy cycle has been created thanks to the system’s own heat/cold cycle and heat storage reservoirs. The residues of the heated mash, too, are reused, being passed on to the neighbouring Holzhof biogas plant (Amlikon-Bissegg municipality).
All in all, the reduction in CO2 emissions amounts to around 40 tonnes per year.
Interestingly, the distillery also has its own spring, which belonged to the old cheesemaking dairy building: at the end of the cycle, the spring water, and the rainwater harvested from the roof, are returned directly to agriculture and the environment.
