Jury Award
Guadalupe Wedding Chapel
Location
Los Angeles, CA
Design Firm
Romero Thorsen Design, Santa Monica, CA
Design Team
Marc Romero (Principal in Charge), Kjersti Thorsen, Rameen Khan, Robert Jacques
Fabrication
Caltron Construction, Superior Signs
Client
Marie & Julliano Morchon
Photographer
Jason Ware
The Guadalupe Wedding Chapel is located within the historic district of Downtown Los Angeles, California. The core market demographic is 90% Latin. This second-generation, family-owned business has come to fruition through the creation of a brand image embracing the elements of romance and emotion found in classic architecture, warm interiors, and decorative finishes. Beyond the threshold of the entry lobby lay five individually styled micro-chapels which cater to hundreds of families and couples each week. There is a formal sense here, yet the tone is story-like and charming. The terrazzo floor and ceiling trompe l'oeil add further to the story of love and promise.
Jury Comment
"The tone is both formal and yet story-like and charming. The terrazzo floor and faux-masonry façade suggest permanence, the heart cast in the floor pattern and the trompe l'oeil ceiling suggest romance and the ethereal. The inclusion of the 1-800 number in the cast-stone inscriptions suggests unbounded confidence in the business venture. I doubt many of us will ever get the opportunity to make our end-users, whether in the process of marriage, divorce, tax-preparation, or tuxedo rental, as blissful as the designers of this project."