WEST CHURCH SOCIAL - BAR/ARCADE/MUSIC VENUE
       
     
THEME
       
     
006.WCS.LANGUAGE.jpg
       
     
WEST.CHURCH.LOGO.SIGNS.flat.jpg
       
     
WEST.CHURCH.LOGO.BANNERS.jpg
       
     
EXTERIOR RENDERINGS
       
     
WCS.brick.PROFILE.BUILDING.jpg
       
     
INTERIOR RENDERINGS
       
     
WCR.STAGE2.AREA.jpg
       
     
WCS.GAME.AREA.jpg
       
     
005.WCS.CHURCHYARD.PAGE.jpg
       
     
WCS.SHIPPINGBAR.jpg
       
     
MERCH
       
     
BARS.DIVES.jpg
       
     
BARS.IDEAS.jpg
       
     
FURNITURE.CHURCHST.jpg
       
     
INTERIOR FINAL
       
     
CONSTRUCTION
       
     
W02.jpg
       
     
W10.jpg
       
     
W04.jpg
       
     
W06.jpg
       
     
W.05.jpg
       
     
W07.jpg
       
     
W08.jpg
       
     
W09.jpg
       
     
w18.jpg
       
     
W03.jpg
       
     
W13.jpg
       
     
W14.jpg
       
     
W12.jpg
       
     
W15.jpg
       
     
WEST CHURCH SOCIAL - BAR/ARCADE/MUSIC VENUE
       
     
WEST CHURCH SOCIAL - BAR/ARCADE/MUSIC VENUE

West Church is a 10k sq. ft. nightclub, bar, music venue with an arcade and pool tables, with an adjacet (upcoming) outdoor area. I handled this one myself from initial brand, voice, logo and room design, all the way through to hand-painting wall murals, working with the GC on the full build out of the exterior and interior, all finishes and colors, to hand-picking and framing every poster and prop. It opened in late ‘23 and we’re still putting touches here and there, and working on the exterior “Churchyard” for Summer of ‘24.

THEME
       
     
THEME

The idea behind West Church Social (located on West Church St.) is based on a narrative premise that a 1920’s New Orleans Church Revival Hall was active until 1960 when it became a Rock and Roll dance hall. The walls are adorned with old church and rock memorabilia. The “church” theme resonates somewhat sarcatically through the signage and merchandise.

006.WCS.LANGUAGE.jpg
       
     
WEST.CHURCH.LOGO.SIGNS.flat.jpg
       
     
WEST.CHURCH.LOGO.BANNERS.jpg
       
     
EXTERIOR RENDERINGS
       
     
EXTERIOR RENDERINGS

Starting with actual photos of the old building, I then go into photoshop and “construct” the mock-up of the design to work with the contractors/architects.

WCS.brick.PROFILE.BUILDING.jpg
       
     
INTERIOR RENDERINGS
       
     
INTERIOR RENDERINGS

The design is rendered entirely in Photoshop to give a more fully realized idea of colors, textures, design and narrative vibe of the spaces.

WCR.STAGE2.AREA.jpg
       
     
WCS.GAME.AREA.jpg
       
     
005.WCS.CHURCHYARD.PAGE.jpg
       
     
WCS.SHIPPINGBAR.jpg
       
     
MERCH
       
     
MERCH

“EVERYBODY RELAX” became the focused tagline and theme. So much in fact we changed up one wall to accommodate a large graphic. The merch focuses on tongue-and-cheek references to the difference between the bar and church idea.

BARS.DIVES.jpg
       
     
BARS.IDEAS.jpg
       
     
FURNITURE.CHURCHST.jpg
       
     
INTERIOR FINAL
       
     
INTERIOR FINAL

In the end we decided to make a few obvious tweaks, but kept the same character. We ended up with an arcade “room” to keep the obnoxious noises sequestered (and kid traffic quarantined). A larger stage area and more wall area seating were added. But for the most part we stuck to the plan that I laid out oringally.

CONSTRUCTION
       
     
CONSTRUCTION

We were pleasantly suprised to find this barn-style cathedral ceiling at the entry after tearing off lowered acoustic tiles from the previous tennant (a pharmacy). A large central wall that split the existing space was also fully removed. In essence, we took the place down to the lath.

W02.jpg
       
     
W10.jpg
       
     
W04.jpg
       
     
W06.jpg
       
     
W.05.jpg
       
     
W07.jpg
       
     
W08.jpg
       
     
W09.jpg
       
     
w18.jpg
       
     
W03.jpg
       
     
W13.jpg
       
     
W14.jpg
       
     
W12.jpg
       
     
W15.jpg