blooloop.com: Among other factors, architect Robert Venturi came to the conclusion that successful and dynamic urban environments contain a “messy vitality over obvious unity.” Both Disney and venture agree that it is this quality that is necessary if a place is to feel authentic and resonate with meaning to the users.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Disney, Theme Parks and a "messy vitality".
blooloop.com: Among other factors, architect Robert Venturi came to the conclusion that successful and dynamic urban environments contain a “messy vitality over obvious unity.” Both Disney and venture agree that it is this quality that is necessary if a place is to feel authentic and resonate with meaning to the users.
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This article is in no way news for anyone who has ever visited a Disney Park. Granted, I have a certain bias to the parks, but if you talk to people who have been to a Disney park, they will most definately say it was a magical and unique place. Having worked there, I have a insider's view on how the company views the creation of the projects they under take. Walt Disney initially created Disneyland as a place for him to take his daughters on the weekend that was clean and safe. But he wanted something more, he wanted a place that inspired people and allowed both the little kids and the big kids (adults) to have fun. The arhitecture of the parks is crucial to the continuation of this idea because the world that is created creates the first sense of magic when you walk through the doors. In the article, it mentions that Disney has possibly the most truly desired achitecture style in the world, and I couldn't be in more agreement. Disney Park Imagineers pride themself on the accuracy of thier designs. For the various areas at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom, Imagineers actually went to the various continents (Asia, Africa, etc.) and did months of research before beginning thier designs. They got the flow of that aspect of the park to be identical to the feel and look of the region which they were trying to create. But this was not enough. Because while it might be impressive to recreate the feel of an atmostphere 10,000 miles from its orginal source, it's more impressive to do it with a magical/mystical flare. But this happens at every Disney Park. They pay attention to the smallest of details. For example, they have African tatchers come to tatch the roofs at Animal Kingdom Park and Lodge. They did not use modern materials, only what they have in the rural parks of Africa, and the roofs have yet to leak once. This attention to ensures the design remains true to enviroment created, but by tweeking it ever so slightly and not trying to appear perfect, this ideal and magical world is created. THis doesn't even begin to take into account the areas not modeled after a specific place. This spring a new expansion at Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom opens to reveal several new worlds for guests to enjoy. FOr example, they are replicating the town that Belle is from from Beauty and the Beast. This poses an interesting problem: how does one create a world that emitts the emotions and wonders of a world they created previously that was loosely based on 1700 France? And this is interesting because they don't care about straight edges on buildings or perfectly moulded door frames. In the Disney mind, to go for the emotion of the place they want to create. In the real world, we are too busy trying to make everything perfect, but why does we follow Disney and try to make everything magical?
One of the things that I love the most about Disneyland is that there is it is so fake and yet so welcoming. It is idealistic. It is depicts the perfect, most fun and clean versions of the buildings and environments that we encounter in real life. It's interesting to consider the psychology behind it all- that too many varying details can be an overload. One of the things that I have never really liked about CMU's campus is that it is not cohesive. I do appreciate that the campus has a mix of old and new buildings, and that those buildings are artifacts of their times, but I just wish that the building styles all came together in a more cohesive way. I think our campus, and the city of Pittsburgh as a whole, is a great example of the sort of real-world "messy vitality" that author Sam Genneway is talking about. Disneyland is comforting and reassuring to its visitors because it is more unified and picturesque than their day-to-day environments. I think that this whole psychological theory should be considered when designing a set. If a set designer is going for and idealistic world, they can certainly take a page from the methods of the Disney Theme Park designers.
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