Saskia van Stein on How Disney Parks Influenced Architecture

Saskia van Stein, director of the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam and dean of The Critical Inquiry Lab at Design Academy Eindhoven, discusses her research on Disney's architectural influence. Her exhibition "The Architecture of Staged Realities (Re)constructing Disney" debuted at Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam and will travel to Arc en rêve Centre d'Architecture in Bordeaux. Van Stein explains that Walt Disney drew inspiration from European architecture during World War I, including the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen and the Matterhorn in Switzerland. Disney's Laugh-O-Grams from 1921 already featured urban narratives, and he later conceived EPCOT as a futuristic city. Disney's parks emphasized storytelling, crowd control, and mediated experiences through TV and merchandise. His influence extends to postmodern and neo-traditional architecture, with examples in China where Parisian-style cities exist. Van Stein notes that contemporary architecture lacks narrative and playfulness, contrasting with the work of Aldo Rossi, Bernard Tschumi, Robert Venturi, and Denise Scott Brown. She sees potential in the metaverse for architectural experimentation but believes its full capabilities remain untapped.