Representatives of FORREC, JRA, WhiteWater, Zamperla and The Hettema Group will judge this year’s Theme Park Design Competition.
The contest, now in its fifth year, is organised by The Cornell Theme Park Entertainment Group, which is committed to the study of theming design as well as promoting development of its student members.
The judging panel is as follows (as pictured above from left to right):
- Gordon Dorrett. The executive director at FORREC joined the design firm in 1985. Serving as president for 20 years, he helped build the Canadian company into one of the world’s leading global entertainment design firms, boasting projects in over 20 countries.
- David Ferguson. As an art director at JRA (Jack Rouse Associates), Ferguson boasts 38 years of industry experience. His knowledge of art history, theatre and design plays a big part in his work. Prior to joining JRA, he worked for Paramount Parks and as a freelance designer for Kings Productions.
- Timothy Jacobi. The prototyping engineer at Zamperla joined the leading Italian ride manufacturer in 2012 after eight years at S&S Worldwide. At his former employer, he was the originator of several ride concepts including Pirate Plunge and Free Fly.
- Stefan Lawrence. Creative Director of The Hettema Group who, during a career spanning over 15 years, has told stories and created experiences for clients including the BBC, Walt Disney Imagineering, 20th Century Fox, Marvel, Lionsgate, Nickelodeon, Merlin Entertainments, Hasbro, Aardman Animations, Nintendo, Red Bull and many more.
- Kelly Sall. As a product manager at WhiteWater, Sall had been able to combine 15 years in the marine industry as a product design engineer with a lifelong obsession for theme parks. Since joining the waterpark company in 2014, he has managed the development of new products including not just waterslides but also a diverse portfolio of water rides.
Zamperla, WhiteWater, JRA and FORREC are sponsors of the Theme Park Design Competition 2019, while Blooloop is the official media partner.
Submissions for this year’s contest are now closed. Sixty-four teams representing 44 universities in six countries will compete to win $6,500 in cash prizes. Judges will review the submissions across four challenges: Concept Design, Master Planning, Technical Analysis and Development. We can’t wait to see the winning concepts!
