Former President of Walt Disney Imagineering Bob Weis will be leading the creation of Gensler’s new Entertainment Practice Area, he announced on Instagram Thursday.
Weis retired from Imagineering in early 2023 and then joined design and architecture firm Gensler as their Global Immersive Experience Design leader. He wrote on Instagram that with the Entertainment Practice Area, he, alongside Lexi Barry and their team, will “bring storytelling to life through physical, digital, and sensory engagement.” The team includes former Imagineers Elisabeth Papadopoulos, Greg Ashton, and Eric Robison.
The video Weis shared includes some of his concept art and notes.
When Weis joined Gensler, he said, “At Disney, we often collaborated with Gensler, and I was able to see firsthand its culture of design innovation that transforms the quality of life in our world. This is what visionary companies are seeking, and what we all are yearning for as we interact with the world around us. Gensler’s commitment to leading the future of design is perfectly aligned with my passion for developing unique, immersive experiences with a diversity of creative voices.”
In an interview at the time, Weis laid out what he thinks the three main elements of immersive experience are:
First, these are experiences that people want to do together. We’re tired of being at home in front of our computers. We’re looking for communal celebratory experiences with our friends, family, and other people in our community.
This is why Gensler is so important in the development of immersive experiences. The firm already has such an incredible commitment to the cultural vibrancy of cities and the place where we live, work, and play. It’s exciting to think that we can create great stories that people can experience together in new ways and do them in the spaces Gensler already creates.
The second element is that we are immersing people into the space, meaning we are surrounding them with the theme, the story, and the idea. This is different from what we’re used to, which is watching things on a screen or seeing a piece of sculpture or painting in a museum. In this medium of immersive experiences, we want to break out of the screen and really envelop all the senses — sight, smell, emotion, the feel — all the things that can tell the story in physical ways that you will never forget.
And the last element that is key to an immersive experience — and this is maybe the hardest to accomplish — is that we are giving people agency in the story itself. We want people to feel that these experiences are their story and that the story becomes about them. Think of going to the theater, but instead of watching the play from your seat, you are part of the play. You are impacting how the conflict is resolved or how the art piece is accomplished. You have a real authentic impact on the experience. It’s an active role.
Weis was with Walt Disney Imagineering for 42 years, serving as president of WDI for a time and then Global Imagineering Ambassador. He officially departed Disney on January 2, 2023.
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