Architecture For the Imagination: Creative Place-making Through Themed Entertainment Design

 

Architecture For the Imagination: 

Creative Place-making Through Themed Entertainment Design

            As architectural designers, one of the first questions we tend to ask ourselves when beginning a new project is "How can I make a design that has an impact on environment I am designing for?". But what happens when our goal is to create an entirely new, and immersive environment through architecture? 

           Those who have been to a Disney Park,  or walked through the streets of "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" know first hand how different architectural techniques can create such and impact on seeming transforming guests into a new, fully immersive environment. Both the architectural styles and techniques present often help designers create a since of time, place, and sometimes even scale. 

            One of the strongest examples that comes to mind is a specific technique that Disney Imagineers used in the New Fantasyland expansion in Walt Disney World, Orlando. In attempt to make guests feel as though they are seeing a large castle off in the distance, designers turned to the idea of forced perspective. Believe it or not, the castle shown below is less than 13 feet tall.

            Though these type of projects are not what typically comes to mind when we think of "Architecture", it is still extremely impressive to see how these architectural techniques can be used to transport us to a new environment, and create a brand new sense of place.