Twenty minutes north of Maryland’s bustling downtown Bethesda, Montgomery County’s vast Agricultural Reserve could be another planet. But among the agrarian outposts nestled along serene, rolling fields is a barn that could easily fit into both: with a seemingly endless backdrop of blue sky, it's a sleek interpretation of its rural counterparts and the state’s latest destination for sampling Maryland-grown spirits at their source.
Song Dog Farm Distillery, which opened to the public last month, was designed by University of Maryland Professor of the Practice Peter Noonan ‘88, M.Arch ‘92, FAIA a principal at McInturff Architects. The small-batch crafter of fine spirits—including, rye, bourbon and gin— is the passion project of Megan Draheim and David Harris, who worked with Noonan for almost six years to bring their dream to fruition.
It had every opportunity to wither and die; the project went through three radically different drafts for three separate sites. Their second stab—a light-filled courtyard design for an industrial site in Rockville, which got as far as permits, a hired contractor, and ordered windows—was sidelined by the pandemic, a fate that left Noonan crestfallen. But two years later, a call resuscitating the project: Draheim and Harris had purchased a 28-acre farm in Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve. Did he still want to do the project?
“It was like a phoenix, coming back to life two years later,” said Noonan. “That project was always in the back of my mind, so it was just so exciting.”
While the design would be dramatically different from the previous versions, it would carry a common thread: a place that was both a destination and an experience, where customers could enjoy a cocktail, but also get a keen understanding for where it came from and how it was made. It required extensive research on Noonan’s part, who traveled to over a dozen distilleries in Kentucky to understand how spirits like whiskey and gin are developed, and explore how the product’s agricultural origins, craftsmanship and the customer experience could be intertwined through the building’s programming.
Working off his research and in partnership with Harris and Draheim, Noonan’s design offers an environment where the process—from milling to fermentation—is front and center. Clear sightlines are intentional from the moment you pull up to the property, whether spying the barns and clusters of outbuildings on neighboring farms to the clear view of the gleaming copper and stainless-steel stills humming away behind the expansive bar.
“I remember a conversation where we said, ‘we don’t want a red barn,’” said Draheim. “We were trying to masquerade ourselves a bit, but at the same time we all agreed we wanted it to fit into the landscape, but in a way that was different. Peter really helped us create something special.”
As it was their third time at bat, the clients’ budget was modest; it was important to Noonan that the design be beautiful, but could also be built. While a streamlined design, special touches create a sense of warmth and luxury, from the tasting porch’s fir ceiling to walls in the tasting room made of charred Japanese timber, similar to the toasted staves used to line Song Dog’s bourbon barrels. Stand closely enough and you can smell it.
“We were going for a lot with a little,” he said. “It’s a simple form, a limited palette, and those were things I learned as a student — that if it has nice moments and materials, it's going to make a timeless design.”
While the farming focus is currently on botanicals, eventually Draheim and Harris will grow heirloom corn for their bourbon and rye right on site (they currently get all source products from local farmers). From a structural standpoint, the design gives their existing site room to expand as the business grows.
For Noonan, Song Dog Farm Distillery was a dream project, and one of his favorites. With a successful, 30-year career noted for private residential projects, it's one of just a few places Noonan can revisit: he has brought family and friends for drinks since the October opening, and hopes to bring his students for a tour. But more personally, it’s the chance to watch others experience something he created.
“It gives me the opportunity to see the place filled with people enjoying themselves,” he said “That’s indescribable as an architect.”