How will you make an object higher than the sum of its elements? How will you make one thing that can resonate, that can sing to an viewers? These are simply among the questions posed by Ben Dobbin, senior accomplice at Foster + Companions, when conceiving his newest undertaking – the third version of The Dalmore’s Luminary Sequence, unveiled on the eve of the Venice Structure Biennale 2025.
In an interesting triumvirate of structure, whisky, and sculpture, co-curated with V&A Dundee and following collaborations with Kengo Kuma in 2022 and Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) in 2024, this version sees Dobbin discover the stress between artistic precision and fluid artistry, each in liquid and in kind.
(Picture credit score: Foster + Companions)
Meet the Dalmore Luminary Sequence sculpture No.3
The result’s two extremely collectable whisky releases: The Uncommon – an exceptionally uncommon 52-year-old Single Malt; and The Collectable, a exceptional 17-year-old Single Malt Whisky impressed by The Uncommon and obtainable in a restricted version of simply 20,000 bottles. The previous is housed in a sculptural bronze construction by Dobbins. Daring, asymmetrical, and improbably however fantastically suspended via a method often known as tensegrity, it’s a bit that pays homage to each pure forces and structural finesse.
‘There’s one thing magical about making a kind that appears to defy gravity,’ says Dobbin, who, as head of the agency’s San Francisco workplace, counts Apple Park in Cupertino and the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco amongst his accomplished works.
(Picture credit score: The Dalmore)
As with each architectural undertaking, translating The Dalmore’s illustrious historical past, narrative and artistry right into a sculptural art work started with a full immersion into the revered whisky maker’s world. Working alongside Grasp Distiller Richard Paterson OBE and Grasp Whisky Maker Gregg Glass, Dobbin was instantly drawn to what he describes as a ‘choreography’ of style. ‘They design flavour the way in which we design buildings,’ he says. ‘There may be an understanding of circulation, layers and deliberate stress.’ They shortly discovered a shared language. ‘We spoke about excessive notes, low notes, rhythm and composition – in whisky, in music, in portray. It’s all linked.’
Composed of clean curves and intersecting bronze rods, the housing for The Uncommon echoes each the flowing topography of the Scottish Highlands and the layered complexity of the whisky itself. ‘Whisky making is so deeply tied to position. The river, the loch, the Highlands feed the distillery, and the distillery creates the whisky. That total cycle formed my idea and the sculpture grew to become a sort of panorama in itself – a curvilinear expression of the cradling of the centrepiece whisky, simply because the Highlands cradle the loch.’
(Picture credit score: The Dalmore)
Time was of the essence, although not by way of deadlines. Each whisky making and structure share a have to create outcomes that can directly evolve from historical past and endure for a few years to return. Each sense should be thought of, one thing that additionally led Dobbins to contemplate musical devices. ‘The harp is one thing that has been refined and perfected over time,’ he explains. ‘It’s stunning to listen to and a feat of engineering, however nobody can say who designed it. It’s advanced. That’s true of nice design – it endures past its authorship. The violin is one other instance: a humble object that fills an area many instances its measurement. It’s higher than the sum of its elements.’
Dobbins has all the time been fascinated by how one self-discipline can affect one other. ‘Like a helicopter blade manufactured from laminated timber informing the design of a eating chair, there’s magnificence in that cross-pollination. At Foster + Companions, there’s an obsession with the refinement of engineering – economic system, lightness, and precision. That considering may be very a lot in my DNA.’
(Picture credit score: The Dalmore)
The whisky itself, The Uncommon, was completed in an array of casks, from Classic 1980 Calvados and 1940 Colheita Port to 40-year-old Pedro Ximénez Sherry and Châteauneuf-du-Pape. ‘The dialogue with Ben impressed us to revisit casks we’d put aside years in the past, together with Calvados barrels we had the foresight to put down earlier than they have been even formally accepted for Scotch ending,’ says Gregg Glass, The Dalmore’s grasp whisky maker. ‘It was a artistic means of stress and launch.’
The Dalmore Luminary 2025 Version – The Uncommon is out there by way of Sotheby’s Hong Kong till 16 Might, with all proceeds benefiting V&A Dundee. Leonie Bell, the museum’s director, sees the Luminary Sequence as a pure extension of design’s energy to maneuver throughout disciplines. ‘The great thing about this undertaking lies in its synthesis,’ she notes. ‘Whisky, structure, sculpture – every aspect elevates the others.’ Dobbin would agree: ‘The Dalmore makers have spent many years refining their artwork. I’ve spent many years refining mine. However while you step exterior your self-discipline and create one thing new collectively – one thing that neither one among you can have made alone – that’s when issues get fascinating.’
(Picture credit score: The Dalmore)
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