The While Owl Social Club is a new SE Industrial District bar and eatery, established in 2012 as a social respite in the rapidly transforming Portland neighborhood. Focusing on being everything at once, the new bar needed to be flexible and dynamic, capable of serving as restaurant, event space, and concert venue all in one existing building. Dominek Architecture was brought in to redevelop the 3,200 sf space to meet these complex programmatic requirements, transforming the bar from an infamous dive to a vibrant and successful establishment. The space includes a raised platform, capable of transforming from intimate dining experience to full concert stage. The booth seating is modular and can be reconfigured with ease to allow various live performance configurations, from comedy shows to hard rock concerts.
The dining space is visually anchored by the large bar, a monolith of repurposed glue-laminated wood beams, offset at a subtle angle to open sightlines to the stage. Softened by leather bar stools and reused mason jar lighting, the bar highlights a visual palette of matte black and warm wood, repeated throughout the establishment.
The dining space is visually anchored by the large bar, a monolith of repurposed glue-laminated wood beams, offset at a subtle angle to open sightlines to the stage. Softened by leather bar stools and reused mason jar lighting, the bar highlights a visual palette of matte black and warm wood, repeated throughout the establishment.
Work Completed at Dominek Architecture, LLC
