Archinect - News

Oliver Wainwright on Disney's 'dream or nightmare' Storyliving community

2024-04-09T11:58:00-04:00

With revenue from cinema and streaming falling in recent years, income from Disney’s “experience” division is soaring, and property development is the next logical step. Disney tried it before in Florida, first with utopian plans for Epcot (the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow), followed by the quaint town of Celebration, but Storyliving takes the branded living experience to the next level.

Writing for The Guardian, critic Oliver Wainwright reflects on plans for a major Disney-themed development at Rancho Mirage in the California desert.

As we reported initially in 2022 and in a follow-up last year, the 2,000-home Storyliving by Disney scheme will include a midcentury-influenced member's clubhouse named for the fictional Parr family from the company’s “The Incredibles” franchise, where users can engage with Disney-themed art lessons and experience dinners inspired by Disney stories.

Related on Archinect: Disney unveils further details for planned Cotino community in the Coachella Valley. Image courtesy Disney Parks

In his latest article, Wainwright views the development through the lens of the Architecture of Stage Realities exhibition taking place at Arc en Reve in Bordeaux. The exhibition "paints a portrait of Walt Disney as a natural-born developer, a cartoonist who understood not only how to lure people into his magical worlds but how to keep them coming back," Wai...

Disneyland’s $1.9 billion campus expansion moves toward approval

2024-03-14T11:54:00-04:00

The LA Times and other local outlets are reporting on the progress made by Disney towards eventually realizing an expansion of the existing plot of Disneyland, a move billed as generating multiple community benefits for the city of Anaheim.

The $1.9 billion DisneylandForward project does not call specifically for any new construction and will be executed within the resort's existing 500-acre campus. According to an assessment of the plan from the Disney Tourist Blog, “DisneylandForward is the company’s pitch to the public and City of Anaheim for more flexibility in the master plans from the 1990s in order to give the company greater autonomy over what to build and where.”

In line with founder Walt Disney's vision for a constant expansion of the resort, the plan presents the potential for both an "immersive new theme park" and a "new kind" of entertainment district possibly containing a hotel and cluster of retail, dining, and entertainment plots to be created in the east and west co...

Disney unveils further details for planned Cotino community in the Coachella Valley

2023-03-27T17:03:00-04:00

Disney’s planned “Storyliving” community is gaining traction after the company released an update featuring additional details about their new Cotino project located in Rancho Mirage, 11 miles east of Palm Springs, California.

As KTLA reported this weekend, the scheme will come with a host of amenities “thoughtfully inspired by Disney Imagineers.” A midcentury-influenced member's clubhouse named for the fictional Parr family from Disney’s “The Incredibles” franchise will now grace the development as a centerpiece to Cotino’s 1,700 homes, a town shopping center, and Grand Oasis manmade water feature.

Image courtesy Disney Parks

Disney says: “The main entertaining room will take inspiration from the movie and will feature a towering indoor/outdoor rockwork fireplace. Additional spaces will include five bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, boardroom, and an art studio. Along Parr House's exterior, an elevated patio will present stunning views of the grand oasis and the surrounding mountain...

Former Walt Disney Imagineering head Bob Weis joins Gensler

2023-01-13T13:06:00-05:00

The former President of Walt Disney Imagineering Bob Weis is joining Gensler as a Global Immersive Experience Design Leader, according to a statement released by the firm. Before the move, Weis spent more than 30 years at Disney.

Having joined Walt Disney Imagineering in 1980, Weis became president of the studio in 2016. He led more than 200 major projects in his time at the studio, encompassing theme parks, attractions, resorts, and cruise ships in the U.S., Shanghai, Tokyo, and Paris. He has also consulted with Disney clients such as the Smithsonian, National Geographic, NASA, and the United States Navy.

“At Disney, we often collaborated with Gensler, and I was able to see firsthand its culture of design innovation that transforms the quality of life in our world,” said Bob Weis as the news was announced. “This is what visionary companies are seeking, a...

Disney unveils updated plans for second 1,300-unit affordable housing development in Orlando

2022-11-17T12:03:00-05:00

The Walt Disney Company has announced detailed plans and a developer for its new 1,300-unit affordable housing development outside of Orlando.

The company says its latest housing project says will support the local Orange County Housing for All plan that will deliver 86,100 units of affordable housing to the growing community before the end of the decade.

The development will be led by the Michaels Organization and be made available to Disney and employees and members of the general public whose income qualifies within a certain range. In a press release, Michaels CEO John J. O’Donnell said: “Our goal is to create a repeatable model that we hope will inspire other companies and municipalities to create high quality, attainable housing in their own communities.”

Previously on Archinect: Disney plans to build 1,300 units of affordable housing in Orlando

Disney has been investing in the housing market and community planning with other developments planned for Orlando and Soouthern Cali...

'A roller coaster with both thrill and heart': Tokyo Disneyland's Space Mountain to undergo major renovation

2022-04-29T13:45:00-04:00

Tokyo Disney Resort has revealed that one of its most iconic rides, Space Mountain, will be closing for a major renovation. The overhaul will commence in 2024, and by 2027, the rebuilt cosmic attraction is promised to offer enhanced performance and immersive special effects. The reported cost of the revamp is expected to be approximately $436 million.

“I’m thrilled to introduce this attraction to guests,” said Walt Disney Imagineering Producer Kathleen Davis. “It’s not only a whole new ride experience, but the story also has so much emotion. Through the queue and then on the ride, we see our connection to our planet and gain a new perspective for how special it is in all the universe. It’s a roller coaster with both thrill and heart.”

In addition to Space Mountain, the park’s Tomorrowland will get an updated plaza, which “will represent a future where humans are in harmony with nature.” According to the Disney Parks blog, the space will offer guests areas to rest and relax, along w...

Disney plans to build 1,300 units of affordable housing in Orlando

2022-04-07T17:00:00-04:00

Now, more than 50 years later, a more urban part of Disney’s utopian idealism is taking shape. The company is announcing a new project to augment its vast theme park and resort development with 1,300 units of affordable housing, set on 80 acres of land right next to Disney World.

The Walt Disney Company is hoping to work with an unnamed third-party affordable housing developer to build the project. The units will be available to income-qualifying candidates from the general public and Disney employees. This initiative comes as Orlando-area rents are increasing, with the number of residents paying more than a third of their income on rent among the highest in the country. As noted by Fast Company, a 2019 National Low Income Housing Coalition report named Orlando the worst city in the country for affordable housing.

Previously on Archinect: 'Storytelling to storyliving': Disney unveils designs for a new master-planned community in the Coachella Valley

This is just one of several planned developments Disney has recently slated. Last year, the entertainment company announced plans to build a regional Orlando campus called Lake Nona for relocated employees from California. And, earlier this year, they unveiled designs for a master-planned community in the Coachel...

'Storytelling to storyliving': Disney unveils designs for a new master-planned community in the Coachella Valley

2022-02-16T17:04:00-05:00

Those looking to spend their lives in the wonderful world of Disney may soon see their high hopes fulfilled after the 99-year-old entertainment giant announced a slate of new master-planned communities that will begin to take shape in its namesake’s one-time Southern California home.

Each community association will be operated by a selection of Disney cast members brought in from its Phillip Johnson-designed Celebration, Florida training grounds. The company’s press announcement also mentioned a club membership program that offers residents “curated experiences” including wellness programs and cooking demonstrations.

Image courtesy Disney Parks

On the surface, the structures that make up the planned communities don’t appear to be in the style of European-inspired architecture that was synonymous with the Disney brand. Instead, renderings appear to show more mid-century modern elements influenced by the local topography and material culture of the Palm Springs area, bringing it in lin...

Disney is building a new regional campus in Orlando, relocating 2,000 employees from California

2021-07-20T09:21:00-04:00

The Walt Disney Co. said Thursday it planned to build a new regional campus in central Florida to house at least 2,000 professional employees who will be relocating from Southern California to work in digital technology, finance and product development.

Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products, Josh D’Armaro, in a letter to employees, said the move would allow creative and business teams to be better integrated. The new campus will be located about 20 miles to the east of Disney World in a master-planned community called Lake Nona.

“Florida is known for its rich culture of hospitality and active lifestyle as well as a lower cost of living with no state income tax,” said D’Amaro in the employee letter.

It is set to be built over the next 18 months. Its exact location, size, and architect have yet to be announced.

Shanghai Disneyland commences construction for Zootopia-themed expansion

2019-12-09T11:41:00-05:00

Shanghai Disney Resort today announced that the main construction for the its highly anticipated Zootopia-themed expansion had begun. It will be the first-ever Disney park worldwide to construct a park inspired by the 2016 animated film of the same name. The new expansion will sit adjacent to Shanghai Disneyland's Fantasyland, complimenting the progressively developing theme park.

Disney's new Tomorrowland entrance pays homage to the past with "Space Age-inspired" architecture

2019-11-25T12:58:00-05:00

When planning, Imagineers wanted to open up the space and improve access into the land. However, it was important to maintain its overall complexion—with trees and beautiful planters. As shown in this rendering, guests will soon be entering Tomorrowland on a widened pathway lined with elliptical planters that are filled with swirls of colorful flowers.

The Imagineer team studied different Tomorrowland entrances throughout the years, extracting key architectural elements.

In a recent press release concerning the new work, Disney writes, "When 'new' Tomorrowland debuted in 1967, Walt Disney and his Imagineers envisioned this land as a “world on the move,” featuring a variety of futuristic vehicles zooming around and the Googie architecture that had become representative of the Space Age."

The entrance is due to be complete in 2020.

SOM reveals designs for new Disney HQ in Hudson Square

2019-11-14T19:56:00-05:00

Last July, Disney purchased the rights to develop the property at 4 Hudson Square from Trinity Church for $650 million and earlier this year tapped Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to design a new HQ for the media giant. SOM and developer Silverstein Properties have just revealed the first renderings of the project, which will occupy an entire city block and span across 1.2 billion square feet—including retail on the ground floor—and house up to 5,000 employees.

Renderings © SOM / bloomimages

How Walt Disney World plans to run on clean energy

2019-02-08T18:06:00-05:00

...Climate change is bad for business. But as I’ve seen firsthand, companies that invest in clean energy, engage customers in sustainability efforts and leverage their influence to drive smart policies can turn a downside risk into tangible cost-savings, customer retention and global leadership.

Many of Walt Disney's original plans for Disney World, in Orlando, Florida, were scrapped shortly after his death in 1966. Disney envisioned EPCOT (short for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow), for instance, as a hotbed for scientific research and a model for energy and material conservation. While EPCOT in its current form produces its own food and some of its own energy, it is a far cry from Disney's original vision.

Walt Disney announcing his plan for the Florida Project, which includes EPCOT. 1965.

But more than fifty years later, a series of changes are making serious headway at the worldwide destination. Angie Renner, an Environmental Integration Director at Walt Disney World Resort, spoke with Jake Hiller of the Environmental Defense Fund about the theme park's initiatives. "Today," Renner stated, "we are striving towards three main environmental goals: divert 60 percent of our waste from landfills by 2020, reduce net emissions 50 percent (from 2012 levels) by 2020,...

Kansas City's iconic Willis Wood Theater to be reproduced in Walt Disney World

2017-07-21T21:01:00-04:00

The company announced that a new live entertainment venue off the Magic Kingdom’s Main Street will be modeled after KC’s iconic, bygone Willis Wood Theatre. The original theater opened in 1902 at 11th and Baltimore streets and stretched for a block and a half. It was a cultural hub for the city before it burned down in January 1917.

Featuring large Ionic columns and Baroque embellishments, the Willis Wood Theater, was designed by Louis Curtiss, Canadian-born American architect noted as one of KC's most prominent architects. It is speculated that Walt Disney frequented the theater when he was living in KC. “It is consistent with the tradition with the Disney theme parks; he incorporated his life into every aspect of the parks,” said Dan Viets, who co-wrote Walt Disney’s Missouri with Star movie critic Robert W. Butler.

The first Disneyland map sold for $700K

2017-06-28T12:08:00-04:00

An original map of the first Disneyland park has fetched £555,838 ($708,000) at an auction in California. The 1953 drawing was used by Walt Disney to secure funding, after his own studio refused to fund the site. The artist's impression was given to an employee, and remained out of public view for more than 60 years.

Fascinating photos of Disney's Magic Kingdom under construction

2016-10-07T14:11:00-04:00

After her grandparents passed away, Kelly Wise Valdes found a treasure trove of candid pictures taken by her grandfather, Chester "Chet" Wise, a master craftsman and woodworker who worked on the construction of the Magic Kingdom in Florida. [...] Thousands of construction workers were there during the Magic Kingdom construction. Disney kept a small handful of these master craftsmen and made them full-time Disney employees, and my grandfather was one of the chosen few.

Click here to find more photos. All images via cnn.com, courtesy of Kelly Wise Valdes.

Keeping the Disneyland magic alive, by limiting neighbors' building heights

2015-12-14T17:47:00-05:00

The policy, limiting building heights of 75 to 240 feet within a half-mile radius of the Disneyland Resort, isn’t meant to keep outsiders from getting a peek at the rides and attractions. Rather, the Disney Cone is aimed at limiting views of the outside world for the 25 million-plus annual visitors who walk into the parks for a sense of escape and fantasy – just as Walt Disney had first envisioned on Disneyland’s opening day, more than 60 years ago.

Do contemporary office designs upend work/life balance?

2015-08-26T13:26:00-04:00

Our world is now ideas driven and our environment needs to be energetic, inspiring and even provocative. Employers also want people to stay longer at work and making the space awesome certainly helps.

Many architects are designing home/work boundary-eroding office designs, which purposefully mimic the comforts of home to encourage creative employees to stay later. These designs have been embraced by a who's who of movers and shakers including Google, Facebook, and Disney. But is this shift toward longer hours a great boost to productivity?

In The New Yorker, Tim Wu cites stories of "people [being] scolded for not responding to e-mails after midnight." He argues that You Really Don't Need to Work So Much, making the case that "in white-collar jobs, the amount of work can expand infinitely through the generation of false necessities—that is, reasons for driving people as hard as possible that have nothing to do with real social or economic needs." What agency should architects take in shaping future work environments?

For more on workplace design:

• "Work on Work" exhibition turns public space into office space

• Considering the future of work at the 2015 London Festival of Architectu...

Banksy about to open "Dismaland" pop-up exhibition in British seaside resort

2015-08-19T15:31:00-04:00

Rumors have been circulating around the internet for a few days, but later this week Banksy is now set to open a new pop-up exhibition entitled "Dismaland" at in Weston-Super-Mare, UK. The venue is called "Tropicana", a 10,200-square-foot site to be transformed into "Dismaland", a probable attack on American entertainment giant Disney. [...] As usual with Banksy, the details are very scarce, but earlier this morning Iain Brimecome and Jon Goff were able to fly their drone above the site [...].

Another aerial view of "Dismaland," expected to open later this week. Photo: Iain Brimecome & Jon Goff, image via streetartnews.net.

Photo via @francisclarke on Twitter.

Banksy in the Archinect news:

Relatively soon, in a galaxy (not so) far far away: announcing Star Wars Lands

2015-08-19T14:24:00-04:00

Disney raised more questions than it answered at the D23 Expo with the announcement of plans to unveil Star Wars Lands at Disneyland in Anaheim and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Fla. Here’s what we know so far: The new 14-acre lands will each feature two attractions set in a remote frontier town on the outer rim of the “Star Wars” galaxy. No opening dates have been set for either the California or Florida projects.

Star Wars fans may be salivating at the mouth right now, with a new trilogy on the horizon and now Disney's announcement of two themed parks at the D23 EXPO. Construction will begin at the Anaheim version in 2017 in the Big Thunder Ranch area, which is currently a bit of a no-man's land for themed dinner shows. Starting in 2015, there'll be a Star Wars-themed annual event in Tomorrowland.

As the LA Times states, there's been very little information released so far. But here's what we do know:

The rides and areas will be oriented around the upcoming trilogy, rather than the older two.
One new ride will feature a battle sequence between the "First Order" and the Resistance. First Order sounding a bit unfamiliar? That's because it's an organization from the new series, formed after the collapse of the Empire, but also employing stormtroopers, TIE fighters, etc.
Another new ride will let you fly the Millennium Falcon.
The new land will be set on a planet never seen in the older films. A remo...

AVATAR to Come to Life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

2013-10-18T13:59:00-04:00

Our combined team has taken huge steps forward in “imagineering” Pandora as a real place for our guests to see, hear and touch. At the first-ever D23 Expo in Japan, we shared an early glimpse of the plans for AVATAR at Disney’s Animal Kingdom park and I wanted to share some of these breathtaking images and a short preview of what’s to come with all of you.

The Other Disney World: A Creepy, Empty Village

2012-07-26T17:23:00-04:00

Outside of Paris lies a “Truman Show like über-replica of a French village from the last century, which seems to have sprung up overnight.”

All the Lights of the Kingdom

2012-03-21T18:34:00-04:00

I think Magic Kingdom is an exemplary model of superb light fixture choice in themed design; there is very little overlap and redundancy but very few fixtures call attention to themselves. Still, it would be offensive and out of place to offer modern LED freeway light poles in Liberty Square, so the lamps and light fixtures deserve our respect and appreciation as well: another hallmark of the WED tradition of perfection down to the tiniest detail.