Guinness Beer Museum

Brief information

The seven floors of the Guinness Storehouse were once used not for visitors, but for fermentation: this was the fermentation plant of the St. James’s Gate Brewery. Production here ceased in 1988, and in the 1990s the former industrial building was adapted into a museum and tourist center. That is why the place is interesting not only for its story about the brand, but also because the museum is arranged inside a former part of the production facility itself.

The main interior feature immediately turns history into form: the atrium is designed as a pint glass that could theoretically hold 14.3 million pints. This image turns the building itself into an exhibit: the former workshop is not hidden behind museum finishes, but used as a large vessel for telling the story of beer, advertising, barrels, production, and distribution.

What to notice first

It is worth comparing the brick facades, steel frame, and seven floors. This construction is connected with the building’s industrial purpose, while the influence of the Chicago School was unusual for Ireland in the early 20th century. The exterior reminds visitors that this is not a purpose-built entertainment pavilion, but a converted production block.

Inside, the main focus is the pint-glass-shaped atrium. It connects the old vertical space of the workshop with the new museum scenario: exhibition halls, a section for visitors’ notes, a gift shop, and the Gravity Bar have appeared around the former industrial volume. The rooftop viewing platform adds another meaning to the seven-storey height: the building shows not only the history of Guinness, but also a panorama of Dublin from the upper point of the museum route.