Project Details:
- Completion date: August 2022
- Approximate project cost: 3.1 million
- Addition: 1,111 sq. ft.
- Renovation: 12,000 sq. ft.
- New outdoor plaza and canopy structure with accessible entrance addition
- Welcome center hub, providing easy access to church information
- Spacious café with self-service coffee, various seating options, and an intimate, double-sided fireside lounge
- Bright, sun-filled two-story lobby with generous seating and views of the outdoor patio
- Outdoor family room with various tables and chairs for gathering
- Newly renovated special needs sensory room located in the lower level children’s wing
Project Background:
The Orchard is a church we’ve been privileged to partner with many times over the years on several of their Chicago area campuses. In 2017 we partnered with them on their Arlington Heights campus renovation of new connecting spaces, café, sanctuary, kid’s ministry space, and gymnasium. In late 2021, we completed an adaptive re-use renovation of their Vernon Hills campus, taking it from a former medical office building into a “full Sunday experience” on the first floor.
In 2022 we embarked on a lobby renovation with The Orchard's Barrington campus, which had been previously converted from a children’s museum. When we first began having conversations with the church, we were trying to solve some problems they were having with their main entrance and the first impression experience from the parking lot into the building. This blossomed into a renovation of their lobby, with a focus on hospitality, discipleship, and growth.
A New Hospitality Hub:
A new front entry plaza was created, bringing the front doors down to grade so people can now exit their cars and walk right up to a set of entry doors. A new interior ramp assists those with special needs, and a set of stairs lead up directly to the welcome center, creating a welcoming first impression. This front-and-center hub provides easy access to church information and clear entry points to other physical spaces, such as the spacious café with self-service coffee, various seating options, and convenient resources so people can take their faith a step further. There’s also an intimate, double-sided fireside lounge that’s perfect for a quite chat or a comfortable space to reflect.
The bright, sun-filled lobby offers generous spaces to connect and build relationships, conveniently located within view of children’s check-in and the worship venue. Just outside the door, there’s an outdoor family room with multi-tiered patio offering various groupings of tables and seats. This inviting space gives people the opportunity to gather outdoors and feel the benefits of nature. The Orchard’s newly renovated lobby hub is already building momentum for growth and has been a critical tool for bringing people together in fellowship and drawing them closer to God.
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