Archinect - News

Disney previews major theme park expansions in Florida and California

2024-08-13T13:04:00-04:00

Disney’s magical footprint is about to expand through a new strategic initiative at its long-established Orlando and Anaheim theme parks.

The company’s largest-ever expansion of Walt Disney World in Florida is reportedly worth $17 billion and will unfold over a period of 15 years to cover 17,000 acres. The Orlando project will deliver Disney’s first-ever suspended roller coaster design and, among other attractions, a new section dedicated to villains.

Rendering courtesy of Walt Disney Co.

Back in California, Disneyland’s Avengers Campus will double in size, while the popular Avatar franchise will get its own dedicated destination nearby. It is unclear whether this is part of the $1.9 billion DisneylandForward expansion project announced in March.

Rendering courtesy of Walt Disney Co.

Disney Experiences Chairman D’Amato said, “Work is well underway on all of the new projects we announced, and fans will start to see them come to life in the near future.”

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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...

Can nature sue an architecture project? A lake in Florida thinks so

2022-04-22T12:12:00-04:00

In what has been dubbed a milestone in U.S. legal history, a lake has filed a lawsuit against a developer in Orange County, Florida. Lake Mary Jane is suing property developers Beachline South Residential in Florida state court over the developer’s plans to construct a new development on the north side of the lake, converting 1,900 acres of wetlands and forests into a mixed-use residential, commercial, and office development.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the lake by attorney Steven Meyers, claims that the development would “adversely impact the lakes and marsh who are parties to this action,” causing injuries that are “concrete, distinct, and palpable.” As a deep-dive article in The New Yorker notes, the case marks the first time that an inanimate slice of nature has sued an entity in a U.S. courtroom, sparking a debate over the extent to which natural objects have rights.

The proposed Meridian Parks development. Image via City of Orlando

The proposed development, named Meridian P...

Renderings of the Holocaust Museum for Hope & Humanity in Orlando unveiled

2022-04-14T17:18:00-04:00

The Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida (HMREC) has just revealed architectural renderings for the new Holocaust Museum for Hope & Humanity in downtown Orlando, Florida. It aims to be the world’s first Holocaust museum designed around survivor and witness testimonies.

The USC Shoah Foundation will serve as a content and creative partner in the development of the new museum. This is the first time the Foundation has teamed with a Holocaust Museum to design and implement a ground-up and permanent museum-wide exhibition.

Recently featured on Archinect: 'Everyone Talks About Silver Linings, It's Hard to Talk About Opportunities': A Conversation with Elizabeth Leber, Managing Partner at Beyer Blinder Belle

The museum will occupy a lakefront site and span 43,000 square feet. It has an estimated construction budget of $45 million, with its design led by Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners (BBB). The firm will collaborate with museum experts Ralph Appelbaum ...

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...

Orlando International Airport's $3 billion South Terminal C expansion is set to open in July

2022-03-09T18:43:00-05:00

Orlando International Airport's largest-ever expansion is about 90% complete, according to a Greater Orlando Aviation Authority press release shared with Construction Dive. The three-level South Terminal C project at Florida's busiest airport will encompass 300 acres, add 15 gates to accommodate up to 20 aircraft and serve 10-12 million additional passengers each year, the release said.

The approximately $3 billion project was a collaboration between a Turner-Kiewit joint venture, which provided construction management services for the Landside Terminal C, Hensel Phelps, which served as construction manager for the Airside Terminal C, and Vanderlande, which served as the design/build/operate/maintain contractor.

The new terminal features a high-tech, low-touch design and aims to become the world’s first LEEDv4 airport. The new terminal boasts a more centralized design, where arriving passengers will be able to retrieve checked baggage on the same level where they deplane. It also ensures an easier screening process, in which TSA checkpoints contain fully automated screening lanes, and a quieter baggage handling system that allows passengers to track their bags. The terminal is expected to open in July.

Turn like a wheel inside a wheel: Steinmetz Hall is almost ready to move and groove in Orlando

2022-01-11T18:49:00-05:00

Future generations of concertgoers in the Orlando area will want a ticket to commemorate the moment the city’s dynamic new $612 million performance venue makes its theatrical debut at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts this Friday.

Designed by former UCLA faculty member Barton Myers, Steinmetz Hall is a mechanical wonder made even more remarkable by the way its form can be shifted to adapt to one of the building’s myriad uses. The concert hall has a maximum seating capacity of 1,650 and consists of multiple layouts that can be applied to a variety of individual types of musical and artistic performances.

Photo courtesy Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts

With help from Gala Systems, Myers created a series of interchangeable components that can be rearranged seamlessly according to need. A retractable acoustic shell is moved in and out of place thanks to 65 feet of track that facilitates the theater’s biggest area of public use as a concert hall. Additional space...

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.

The Pulse Nightclub site is now officially a National Memorial

2021-06-29T08:00:00-04:00

President Biden formally signed H.R. 49 into law this weekend, officially recognizing the now-vacant site of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting as a national memorial in a historic move that clears the way for a new permanent monument in Orlando.

The bill, named to honor the tragedy’s 49 victims, designates the club’s former space as an official unit under protection of the National Park Service along with 36 other planned and completed national memorials that include the Washington Monument and Pearl Harbor.

“May no other president ever have to sign for a monument like this,” Biden said at the Oval Office ceremony.

Winning design for the proposed memorial campus. Image credit: Coldefy & Associés with RDAI/onePULSE Foundation.

A team of designers including Orland-based HHCP was announced before the pandemic as the winners of a two-pronged memorial design competition hosted by the onePULSE Foundation. Their design would feature a spiraling flower-like museum and garden space that is...

Brooks + Scarpa to design Mennello Museum of American Art expansion

2019-10-15T14:01:00-04:00

Brooks + Scarpa gave a first glimpse of their commissioned design to expand Orlando's Mennello Museum of American Art. Collaborating with locally based KMF Architects, Brooks + Scarpa will add 40,000 square feet to transform the current 12,000 square-foot building into a more inclusive, welcoming space.

The $20 million expansion will allow the museum to add more public programs, amenities, and multi-functional event spaces to better serve their growing number of visitors.

Image courtesy of Brooks + Scarpa.

Lawrence Scarpa describes their vision as “futuristic and timeless. The design mirrors the objective of the artwork inside: It tells a story and furthers the Museum’s mission to be a place of education, culture, and inspiration. [...] The building is organized as a series of highly engaging spaces where the Museum’s mission of using art to connect people to the world around them c...

Michelle Obama to join the 2017 AIA Conference on Architecture

2017-03-31T12:24:00-04:00

The AIA has announced that a “conversation” with former First Lady Michelle Obama will be held on the first day of the 2017 AIA Conference on Architecture in Orlando. The press release notes the four primary initiatives that Obama engaged with during her time as the First Lady of the United States:

Let’s Move!—an initiative to combat childhood obesity
Joining Forces—a project to support the wellness of service members, veterans and their families
Reach Higher—an endeavor to inspire young people to pursue post-high school education, whether at a four-year university, a community college, or a professional training program
Let Girls Learn—an initiative focusing on helping adolescent girls worldwide attend school

The conversation will be held on Thursday, April 27. Find out more here.

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.

Queer Space, After Pulse: Archinect Sessions #69 ft. special guests James Rojas and S. Surface

2016-06-23T14:45:00-04:00

In light of the recent killing of 49 people at Pulse, a gay night club in Orlando known to many as a center for Queer and Latinx culture, our focus for this week’s podcast is the role and significance of queer spaces in creating community and culture.

We wanted to use this time to encourage constructive discussion of why recognizing, and preserving (in some way), these 'third spaces' is so important. Not just for those who identify as queer or the Latinx community, but for creating diverse, welcoming urban spaces for all.

We’re joined by two guests, S. Surface: a queer designer, curator, organizer, and the program director at Design in Public in Seattle, and James Rojas: an urban planner trained at MIT and specializing in cultural landscapes, who has written extensively about Latino urbanism.

Listen to episode 69 of Archinect Sessions, "Queer Space, After Pulse":

iTunes: Click here to listen, and click the "Subscribe" button below the logo to automatically download new episodes.
Apple Po...

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...