Former President of Imagineering Joins Gensler
Former president of Walt Disney Imagineering Bob Weis is leaving behind the theme park business for something just a little more practical.
Today, Weis joined the architecture firm Gensler as its global immersive experience design leader.
Gensler is the largest architecture firm in the world, with more than 4,000 global clients. The firm handles projects ranging from skyscrapers to office interiors.
By hiring Weis, Gensler is looking to add more sensory activity and storytelling into their projects.
“Now more than ever, as we emerge from the global pandemic, people are craving compelling, authentic, visceral experiences in the places where they live, work, and play,” says Gensler co-CEO Andy Cohen.
A Storied Career
Bob Weis actually began his Disney career selling popcorn on Main Street USA in Disneyland. After graduating college, he was hired by WED Enterprises to help create Tokyo Disneyland.
During his storied career Weis would go on to help create the Disney-MGM Studios, Tokyo DisneySea, the re-imigination of Disney’s California Adventure and Shanghai Disneyland.
In 2016, Weis was named president of Walt Disney Imagineering, where he would lead Imagineering through the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the rise of at home entertainment, and screen based attractions at theme parks, Weis is a believer that interactivity requires more.
“It bothers me when someone says something is an immersive experience and it’s on a screen. We all have screens at home,” he says. “When you go out to an immersive experience, it should engage all your senses. It should envelope you in the story like you can’t do at home on your computer.”
Storytelling Closer to Home
In his new position, Weis hopes to create interactive architectural experiences for people, a little closer to home. He also will get a chance to deploy his trade in a faster-moving industry.
“Theme parks take a lot of development time. There’s a lot of infrastructure and capital that goes into them. They last a long time, they take a long time to deploy,” he says. “[With Gensler] We’re talking about things that want to be very current, that want to be dynamic with the times.”
Gensler and Disney have worked together in the past, including on the design of Shanghai Disneyland.
Interestingly, when Weis stepped down as president of Imagineering, he was replaced by Barbara Bouza, who had worked at Gensler for 20 years!
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