Keystone Crossing

Disney Imaginations Competition 2020

Each year, the team at Walt Disney Imagineering (the creative teams behind the myriad Disney feats in theme parks, hotels, experiences and more) hosts a design competition for college students. The theme changes with each project, but each topic similarly pushes teams to think and create and present in the same way the Imagineers do. 

From the 2020 competition, the Imagineers prompted:

Create an iconic installation on your campus or city that serves as an inspiration, honors the past, and is a vision of the future. It can be architectural, ornamental, static, active, whatever your team feels is the best way to represent your unique chosen location. It can be intimate or grandiose, but it should always be appropriate for the location selected. In telling the very unique story of your chosen spot, it should respect and integrate local traditions and geography. Your icon should be a place to gather and celebrate, as well as reflect and educate the community. A concept that will go down in history as symbolic of your campus or city.

As a team, we developed an interactive experience highlighting Pittsburgh’s past as an industrial giant through its innovation through materials by focusing on the people that developed and use the materials themselves. Guests to Keystone Crossing would be given “material cubes” that function as their ticket and method of interaction throughout the experience. From a trolley ride detailing the history of the area along the Monongahela River through the eyes of three generations of Pittsburghers to an installation that prompts them to think about how they can help build the Pittsburgh of tomorrow, guests use their “material cubes” to hear the stories of others and forge their own along the way.

Team: Liam Philiben (participant 1 in slideshow below), Monica Toren (2), Conor Triplett (4), Jue Wang (3)

Role: Design Engineer, Technology, Experience Design, Producer