A future Icon
Historically Olympia was always an icon, known for being a venue and conference destination for various major events, but it was due a major overhaul. Opportunities arose to create a much bigger mixed-use destination, and a brand new music hall.
London hasn’t seen a new music venue in over twenty years and this one is uniquely special as it’s mid-sized. Built above the historic West Hall, as part of the £1.3bn redevelopment, this 3,800 capacity venue deserved a name that stood out. As we got to work in the deep research of the heritage and cultural importance of the space, we discovered there had been Arabian horses who performed equine displays there, but also hosted performances for the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Jarvic Cocker. Vivienne Westwood was also well-known for her first catwalk shows inside the venue.
Our brief covered Vision, Naming, Branding, Signage and Way-finding.
The key inspiration was in the building’s architecture, those beautiful arched ribs holding the building together. As the name ‘arc’ can mean a curved line connecting notes in music, it also represents the building. One word and two meanings to connect people to place. ARC.
The vision; for every single attendee to have a clean sightline whilst enjoying the latest state-of-the-art lighting and sound.
British Airways ARC is now open and was launched by Self Esteem, McFly, The Black Keys and Van Morrison in it’s first month. The crowds are having the time of their lives.
