Douglas Laing

Douglas Laing is one of Scotland’s last independent, family owned Whisky companies and their continual growth as a business (currently under its third generation at the helm) has seen them outgrow their existing head office in Glasgow.

While it is a problem that many businesses would like to have, it has created a need for the whisky company to seek a new office space suitable for their growing needs.

In 2022, the company found the ideal new location.  Formerly known as Carlson House, it is an office building located on the outskirts of Hillington Estate and ideally positioned close to Glasgow Airport. Perfect for the company as they continue with their expansion plans. However while the location is ideal, the office building needed serious redevelopment to make it fit for purpose for a premium whisky company with considerable heritage.

HF were contracted to complete the fit out of the new office spaces, working hand in hand with interior designer Catherine Henderson to complete the fit out to a set schedule so that the Douglas Laing team could make the move with plenty of time before Christmas.

The main entrance and foyer for the building was completely redecorated as part of the interior design overhaul of the site. Along with new wallpapering, the foyer required the installation of a new interior designer spec’d chandelier which has been complemented by additional LED spot lights to provide illumination in the room.

One of the standout features of the new office building is the main drinks cabinet which acts as a prominent feature for guests and employees alike and which features some of Douglas Laings most priceless Whisky creations.

The new cabinet had to be structurally tested to ensure that it could cope with the sheer weight of so many bottles of whisky. The new cabinet was backlit with with LED lighting while the hall itself was fitted with stylish hall lights and sleek Blade style emergency exit lights.

The Sampling Room/Training Room

Designed for client hospitality and events throughout the year, the Sampling Room features a striking mosaic tiled entrance that incorporates the branding design of Douglas Laing. The Sampling Room and connected Training Room are both fitted with recessed downlights and local dimming features that can be tailored to match the occasion while the new ground hospitality area also now includes a new commercial catering grade kitchen space.

The complete fit out of the brand new catering standard kitchen space comes complete with cooker and gas supply, ventilation and plumbing/drainage requirements. The new kitchen required a 3phase electrical supply for all the necessary kitchen equipment which comes from a localised distribution board. The Sampling Room/Training Room area was made complete with new access doors outside to a newly fitted decking area that will allow the company to have both indoor and outdoor events.

The new board room on the ground floor is fitted with a state of the art Smart touchscreen TV along with data points wired from the client’s main server room to all desk and printer locations with use of cat6A data cable. The room is illuminated by recessed LED downlights.

Overview of work

The work required for Douglas House included Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing, Heating, Fire & Security Services to be completed throughout the new offices.

The work completed included:

⦁ Full electrical strip out of existing wiring.
⦁ Install of plasterboard and grid ceilings throughout.
⦁ All lighting rewired.
⦁ Data points wired from client’s main server room to all desk and printer locations with use of cat6A data cable.
⦁ Installation of containment to serve power, lighting and data install.
⦁ Rewire to all power outlets with floor boxes and wall installed sockets fitted.
⦁ Installation of new Distribution Boards to both ground and first floor riser cupboards.
⦁ Installation of interior designer spec’d chandelier to foyer area, supplemented with LED spot lights to provide additional illumination.
⦁ Full design of Commercial Catering grade Kitchen including extractor fans.
⦁ Installation of new distribution board to serve the ground floor catering kitchen.
⦁ 3phase supplies to kitchen equipment from localised distribution board.
⦁ Installation of sink and pipe work for the new tea prep area on first floor.
⦁ Replacement of Fan coil units with new, altered ducting to serve local areas.
⦁ Refurbishment of existing radiators and heating controls.
⦁ Emergency lighting upgraded throughout.
⦁ Installation of audio speaker system throughout new Sample Bar and Training Room, wired back to localised amplifier.
⦁ Smart touchscreen TV’s installed to Board Room, meeting room and 1st floor finance office areas.
⦁ Installation of new CCTV and Security .
⦁ Altered existing fire alarm system to suit new office layouts
⦁ Installation of ceiling void detectors.
⦁ Installation of door access controls to main building front door and internal main foyer doors to each level.

Project Challenges

The East Wing of what is now know as Douglas House was occupied throughout the works by another business who still had time on their existing lease agreement. This meant that the site had to be kept open throughout the works to allow their employees access at anytime of the day. During the work in the foyer, this presented particular challenges as internal scaffolding had to be erected for work on the new ceilings and wall coverings.

The installation of the Douglas Laing Mosaic floor tiling to the sample room created its own unique challenges. The requirements for this area took great strategic planning to ensure that the space was millimetre perfect and ready for the tiling artist to complete their work towards the end of the project.

We worked closely with the interior designer Catherine Henderson throughout the project to ensure that all details and designs were met correctly and liaised closely with her cabinet makers to ensure that electrical wiring to exact locations for wall lighting and socket outlets was correct first time out.