welcome to themerica™ :: an MFA design thesis by dave gottwald :: academy of art university

one of the most interesting facets of the hong kong disneyland resort is the attention that was paid to traditional chinese design principles—and not superficially, either. a resident feng shui master of hong kong consulted very specifically on the masterplan for the resort project and worked directly with wing chao, executive vice president for disney master planning and vice chairman for disney asia/pacific development (and a native born chinese).

for example, unlike any other disney park around the world, guests do not approach the entrance directly. instead there is a central plaza, complete with a fountain (moving water is considered both good fortune and sound design), that everyone walks though before sharply turning right to enter the park.

the ‘dog leg’ turn from the central plaza is evident on the above resort map.

this is because according to the chinese principles of feng shui, evil spirits can only travel in straight lines. as you walk towards hong kong disneyland from the transportation center / MTR line, you can’t see the park at all—and neither can those pesky evil spirits.

there are no straight paths throughout the entire resort area (the only exception being the thoroughfare leading up to and including main street U.S.A.); all of them wind slightly.

landscaping is omnipresent, and is groomed in the traditional chinese classical garden style. the main entrance to the park is orientated in a north-south direction to ensure maximum advantage from the green dragon mountain to the east and the white tiger mountain to the west. all doorways at the resort are positioned to maximize the flow of positive energy. fittingly, cash registers are close to corners or along walls, where such placement is believed to increase prosperity.

in addition to these spacial design considerations, the chinese obsession with numerology was addressed in various ways. the number eight is the luckiest (hong kong’s bank of china opened on august 8, 1988 to insure future prosperity; the beijing olympic games opened on that same extremely lucky day this year) and the number four is the worst, signaling death. accordingly, the main ballroom at the hong kong disneyland hotel, often used for weddings, was intentionally designed with a floor area of 888 square meters, and the fourth floor was deliberately omitted from both hotel properties. you will also find no numerical references (addresses, years, etc.) on main street with the number four in them.

the incorporation of feng shui into the thematic design of the hong kong disneyland resort is its single most interesting and unique feature, especially given the design duplicity of main street and sleeping beauty castle (which gives the park a carbon-copy feel)—but it’s only part of the equation. all over hong kong disneyland, small details show a distinctly chinese flourish to the design. this is in marked contrast to the tokyo disney resort, where a more purely american-style approach is favored (the japanese like to think of going to their disneyland as like visiting the states for the day).

for example, just like the original disneyland, there is a snow white’s wishing well just to the right of the castle; as in california, all coins thrown into the fountain are regularly collected and given to children’s charities.

here there have been very conscious efforts to make the wishing well appear (and thus function) more like a chinese buddhist shrine. the roof line edges have a slight upturn in the asian classical temple style, but the wishing well still conforms to the general thematic design of fantasyland’s medieval bavarian architecture.

accordingly, the chinese touches are subtle enough that the well still works perfectly in concert with neighboring sleeping beauty castle.

just behind the castle and to the right in fantasyland are the fantasy gardens. the very existence of this space in the park’s initial masterplan demonstrates a careful consideration for chinese culture.

this space contains no attraction or show, its only function is a walking place for quiet contemplation—an ancient asian passtime.

here too traditional chinese architectural accents can be found.

the asian flavors of tomorrowland are a bit more obvious, and suit the bright, pop-space-fantasy theme of the area quite well.

roof curves, while still modernistic and other-worldly, still contain traditional upturns on the tip.

the wavy roofline structure of the restaurant buildings at first seems whimsical, but upon closer inspection, it nods to classic chinese design formats.

miniature turrets, built using forced perspective, add layers of depth to tomorrowland’s asian stylings. these small features manage to convey alien planetoids with rings as well as the grand palaces of imperial china. again, this is not an attempt at a more direct architectural simulation (as on main street)—rather it’s a unique amalgam of referenced styles.

the landscaping of autopia is meticulously groomed in a chinese classical topiary format, making a drive through it very relaxing (and, given a moment of thought, very traditionally asian as well).

it’s fitting that disney designer john hench’s original concept sketch for space mountain was based on japan’s mount fuji—here in hong kong disneyland (much more than even at the tokyo park) the design feels completely at home among these asian gardens.

despite the shortcomings i’ve mentioned in previous posts, it is this seamless incorporation of chinese traditional design practices that makes the hong kong disneyland resort a rewarding experience. the park is a good example of how theming—in order to be properly received by a specific regional audience—must be carefully adjusted and rethought.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 12th, 2008 at 11:42 pm and is filed under field notes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.