Students from CalArts won second place at the Disney Imaginations Design Competition, an annual contest sponsored by Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) which aims to increase participants’ practical knowledge of design.
Every year, WDI posts a challenge for teams to solve through project design. This year’s challenge, as described on its website:
There are many wonderful urban environments around the world where millions of people live, work and play every day. Select a large and densely populated urban area, and design an experience that temporarily or permanently transforms the city for the enjoyment of its citizens and visitors. The experience must take advantage of existing infrastructure, and may be above, below or anywhere in between existing development.
The CalArts team, comprised of Kirk Pierron (Theater MFA 16), Amanda Lui (Art BFA 14), Lorie Wheeler (Art BFA 14) and Sarah Craig (Film/Video BFA) responded to the challenge with Time Embassy, a luxury time-traveling taxi service in Rome that would allow passengers experiences such as walking the streets of the city during the Italian Renaissance or soaring above The Colosseum to watch gladiators battle.
The team wins an all-expense-paid trip to WDI, a $1000 cash prize, plus consideration for paid internship positions at WDI.