Port of Leith Distillery

Synopsis

The Port of Leith Distillery is a striking nine‑storey vertical distillery on Edinburgh’s waterfront. An exposed, tightly constrained site that required meticulous planning throughout construction. As the UK’s first vertical whisky distillery and a major new addition to Leith’s revived whisky making heritage, it stands as a significant and highly ambitious project.

Bauder’s primary roofing scope centred on delivering a hot melt inverted roof system as the main waterproofing layer, supported by a fully insulated inverted build‑up. Pedestal‑mounted walkway slabs created safe access, while stone ballast was used elsewhere to achieve the required loading, based on wind load calculations undertaken during design. In addition to the main roof, Bauder provided waterproofing to the building’s pop‑up roofs using the Bauder BTRS felt system, ensuring seamless integration between the hot melt and felt roofing elements.

A key part of the technical delivery was the integration of a fully warranted man‑safe system. Working collaboratively with the installing contractor and a specialist manufacturer, a bespoke solution was developed that was fully compatible with the hot melt system and met long‑term performance requirements.

The project’s complexity was amplified by the restricted footprint, the exposed marine location, and the need for crane operations at height. The roof also had to accommodate a substantial amount of mechanical and electrical systems critical to the building’s operation, requiring careful sequencing and robust weathering. As part of the sustainability strategy, a 25 kW solar PV array was installed to support the distillery’s energy‑reduction aims. 

Despite the demanding conditions and the technical ambition of the building itself, the roofing works were delivered with precision, demonstrating Bauder’s capability in executing complex roofing solutions on one of Edinburgh’s most challenging landmark projects.

Bauder building board