Our ambition for the ‘Tequila Experience’ project was to develop a unified architectural identity for the many tequila products, currently produced under the famous Jose Cuervo brand. In this regard, the Tequila Experience took the office’s experience in designing for wineries a step further; by creating the fusion of production, marketing, design and architecture to elevate the brand's value.

I love tequila, but I was not aware that ‘Tequila’ is in fact a region within the central Mexican state of Jalisco. The beautiful landscape of Tequila is populated with the blue agave plant, which is fermented to produce the drink.

To develop the Tequila Experience, we began designing through the development of a conceptual narrative based on the manufacture process leading to the creation of the liquor. In our consultations with the client, it was decided that instead of the more traditional horizontal production process we would evolve a more modern, gravity-based vertical production methodology.

From this point-of-departure, we went on to storyboard a series of events intended to energize the program. These events were to directly correlate to each step of the revised production process.

Our storyboard identified the project’s four important themes: Culture / Gourmet / Health / Festivity. These themes were then translated into a series of spaces intended to interact directly with the production line as the organizational spine of the Tequila Experience.

Under an impressive glass-covered great hall, activities including a tequila ride, gourmet dining, performances and other special events, were to unfold – with the tequila production process acting as an animated backdrop to the proceedings.

A tequila museum, wellness spa, wedding chapel and botanic garden were integrated into our master plan so that the project as a whole might achieve the scale and critical mass necessary to make both the architecture and the experience in general, an unforgettable journey.