Builder Magazine: Walt Disney might not be the most obvious influence for a real estate developer. For Southern Land Co. founder and CEO Tim Downey, however, Disney’s obsession with the details that shape an experience has provided a blueprint for four decades of business.
4 comments:
Honestly the community looks beautiful but it looks like something straight out of black mirror. It's just way too perfect and bright white, that I feel like something sinister is going on, like the planet with the perfect houses in a wrinkle in time!!! I think there is something really dystopian about gated communities in general where there are HOAs and all the houses look the same. So much of our individuality comes from the color of our house, what plants are out front, decorations and lights, and these gated communities strip away all that soul. I feel like I could guess what the interior of all these homes look like.... probably white and beige with no color or personality. Southern land also seems like it would be the name of a horror movie that takes place in a beautiful idyllic gated community and I am very sketched out by that.
Despite Disney’s controversies, there is no doubt that they know how to design cohesive experiences in their parks. When looking at future careers, I have often looked at the possibility of working as an imagineer, the team who designs the park's layouts and fine details. All of this to say, I can’t deny that modeling after Disney’s retail landscape is a smart move. This article itself, however, seems to only focus on the utmost positives of the Southland and Co. business and making them appear as this almighty contracting/realty group, which it is clear is not accurate. Although Tim’s outlook on community and the importance of fitting each areas needs seem in the right place, it is disheartening to hear his outlook on the affordability crisis of housing in America, and his intentions are not to make his homes affordable, but that he thinks that those who value the community enough they will buy. I also find it interesting that all homeowners that buy through his company can potentially be chained to Southland and Co. through their many different branches that ensure buyers have to go through them.
This article is very a very intriguing concept. Prior to reading this article I had never thought about how the structure of a Disney resort / park can be applied to a residential community. One fact about Disney parks that this article dose not mention that I think would be a perfect bit of info to add to this article. The fact in questions is how trash cans are spaced in Disney parks. Walt Disney had the trash cans placed at specific points based on where food is purchased, so that guests always have a trash can when they need it. I think this practice would be perfect to apply to a residential community around locations where food can be purchased. The article does touch on an important point, and that is how do you know what residents want or don't want in their community. Unfortunately there is no exact answer without speaking to residents.
I think it is fascinating that Walt Disney’s methods in entertainment have been able to be applied in so many other fields. I have heard about the Disney Experience being reshaped into other areas of entertainment and life, but it was cool to read about someone who points to a direct inspiration from Disney’s work. Every time my family has gone to a Disney park, we always talk about how incredible the architecture is set up to engage and transform what could be a mind-numbing line into a fun activity to explore while you wait. This attention to detail is incredibly interesting as it brings up ideas of how to make other fields more interactive. Similar to the display the dramaturgs created for X, I wonder how we can include more interactive bits of story into our theater. I’ve seen this happening with Hadestown on Broadway in how they have refaced the theater to make its aesthetic match the show, and I think this is an amazing idea for other shows as well.
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