Pelli Clarke & Partners and Jun Mitsui & Associates have shared photos of the recently completed Asahi Shuzo’s Dassai Blue Brewery project in Hyde Park, New York. The adaptive reuse of a former grocery store into the first American home for the popular Japanese brand pays homage to the naturalism of its native country while mirroring the “dance” of fermentation.

Inside, 55,000 square feet of space for rice washing, Koji-making, drying, steaming, and other parts of the fermentation process are enabled without any major alterations being made to the building’s footprint. Production flows counterclockwise to accommodate a volume of approximately 140,000 cases annually. 

Elements from traditional Japanese architecture feature throughout, and the exterior is also rendered in the same character, beset by a materials palette led by Yakisugi charred cedar cladding.

The design further invites visitors to “observe the brewing process in an environment that blends modern and traditional aesthetics as well as the built and natural world,” according to Pelli Clarke & Partners partner Fred Clarke.

Back in Japan, Pelli Clarke & Partners is also celebrating the completion of their Mori JP Tower design in Tokyo (the country's new tallest building) after its early March realization.