What a week. AREAversary & Zone 2: The Terminals preview featured neon octopuses (!), some great sneak peeks, and fantastic people! Huge congratulations AREA15 for enthusiasm-ing an arts-district-come-entertainment-destination into a successful hub for 5 years running! And to Universal Horror Unleashed for a fantastic opening! It’s been incredible for all of us at @gensler_design to serve as master planners and designers for this 80-acre immersive entertainment district that’s redefining what experiential destinations can be. And you know, salvaging an actual burning man 747…
So very excited about this next chapter. The opportunity to lead such an innovative practice feels like a convergence of so many awesome things: theater, culture, entertainment, experiential architecture, and getting to work with such incredible designers to apply it to… anything! Here we go!
#immersive #experiential #entertainment #worldbuilding #experientialarchitecture
@gensler_design@blooloop
Investigated the rumors, tested my intuition, had my morality questioned, and ultimately double crossed a friend. Had a blast.
Is it an escape room? immersive theater? group game? Narrative location based experience? Whatever; it’s clever and has heart!
#hardtodescribe #locationbasedentertainment #escaperoom #immersivetheatre #immersiveexperience #immersivetheater #experiencedesign
@theministryofpeculiarities
Two weeks later, & processing my visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral… Secret Garden meets Mission Impossible with a healthy dose of gravitas???
What began as an innocuous tour of the stairwells featured in movies rapidly spiraled into a glimpse inside the viral, ultra-exclusive Airbnb experience, a peek into the original Christopher Wren model (complete with tiny interior altar and walking lane for observers), the embroidery room (!), and the collection of architectural bits salvaged from damage over the years. In other news, they do all their own carpentry and masonry work to sustain the cathedral in the basement workshops (?!) where craftsmen practice the traditional trades….
Then things got nuts.
Did you know that there is a crawl space in between the dish domes in the ceiling of the main cathedral and the roof? And that when stepping past the years of flotsam associated with running the cathedral (I love a Christmas-tree-window-wench), the original structural brickwork that makes up the dome reveals itself??
But THEN, Duncan (unbelievable tour guide and new-found-friend-for-life) opened a tiny hobbit door off the crawl space, ushered me through, AND WE EMERGED OUT ONTO THE ROOF. Of the cathedral. In the middle of London, exposing the backside of gargoyles and faux light troughs that allow Wren’s building to glow. I stood in a gutter! And soaked in a perspective I couldn’t have imagined.
Also, the Cathedral is grand, stately, has an amazing faith & tourist community, and is down with Paddington Bear.
Processing…
#experiencedesign #entertainmentdesign#culturalexperience #sustainingculture #experiencearchitect #designingexperiences #adventure #wonder #christopherwren #architecturenerd #exclusivity #momentsofconnection #more @airbnb@stpaulscathedrallondon
from tiny swimming dinosaurs to trying futuristic tech, that was WILD.
10/10. Would recommend.
#expedition #adventure #explore #aspiringexplorer #lindbladexpeditions #natgeo #nationalgeographic #wild #natgeoexpeditions
In the depths of the basement of the Natural History Museum lies a dissection room.* Past the giant squid** and behind the dissection tables, rows and rows of creatures in jars line countless shelves. One of these is protected by glass doors & an iron bar with a padlock across the front.
Inside, Darwin’s original artifacts from his trip aboard the Beagle to the Galapagos rest. His pet tortoise stands guard over a small army of jars, each containing a specimen*** and a faded yellow top.
On the glass case, a coaster sized sticker with an “S” indicates that in times of great duress, if the museum were to find itself at risk, every effort should be made to Salvage it.****
Apparently the standard visit to the dinosaurs, soaring exhibition halls, and unfathomable collections of taxidermy are just the tip of the iceberg on what the Natural History Museum does, holds, and has to offer. Thank you so much to Adam Farrar for the jaw-dropping whirlwind tour & chat.
#science #adventure #experiencedesign #museumresearch #sciencemuseum #visitorexperience #sustainingculture #researchfirst #tourismforacause #indianajones #naturalhistorymuseum #visitorattractions #museumlife #wild #nationalgeographic #natgeo #learnsomethingneweveryday
Victoria. &. Albert.
Tucked into the third door on the left next to the Artificial Intelligence exhibit, down from the 3rd century religious artifacts (as you do)…
Victoria’s crown, the Maqdala crown, Da Vinci’s notebooks, seating in the backside of plaster Trajans column, and Cher’s wardrobe. (All new to me on this, one of maaaaaaannnnny, visits)
Casual.
AND got to come in from the far side and had whole exhibit halls completely to ourselves.
#whatarush #victoriaandalbert #retaildesign #experiencedesign #curatedexperience #v&a #diva #divas #sustainingculture #design #curation
Oh, hello Stones!
they’re so big. so old. just as mysterious in person…
also, omg it’s so green here!!!
#itdoesntrainthismuchinLA #desertlife #bigrocks #englishheritage #englishheritagesites #sustainingculture #worldheritage #worldheritagesite
Passionate about portraiture? Portraiture aficionado? Portraiture curious?
The National Portrait Gallery is smashing old, storied traditions together with fresh takes in the friendliest way possible. From its newly refurbished building to juxtapositions in its curated work, experiencing the collection feels less like a lecture on important art and more like a conversation.
Exemplified by the security guard who checked my bag (ordinarily an experience that makes me feel I should I hide the contraband that I don’t actually have…) who wound up doing a little stomp with me in celebration of our mutual admiration for each other’s boots!
Like what you did there @completeworksuk@nationalportraitgallery !
#sustainingculture #culturalheritage #artisforeveryone #immersivedesign #experiencedesign #designforpeople♥
“I didn’t realize this was here!”
Apparently the majority of TripAdvisor travelers and I have this in common when we visit the National Gallery. The UK’s favorite painting (aka the Turner that’s on the £20 note)? Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini portrait? Botticelli’s Venus and Mars??? Oh yeah, all there.
It’s really something that this was my major takeaway and not the massive overhaul to the space that is marking their bicentennial. Talk about curating the guest experience; whether hiding work behind closed doors or creating discreet temporary gallery, the construction is largely unobtrusive.
Can’t wait to see what the future holds, and thank you so much for the fantastic visit!
#sustainingculture #culturalenterprise #experiencedesign #immersivedesign #nationalgallery #experienceart #ng200
