Disney Architecture to Be Shown at Exhibit

The world knows the Walt Disney Co. best for its films, theme parks and merchandise, but next month in Venice, Italy, the company’s buildings will take center stage.

Disney architecture will be the focus of the United States’ entry in the sixth Venice Architecture Biennale, where nations gather every two years to show off pictures and models of their finest bricks and mortar.

The Disney exhibit, titled “Building the Dream: The Art and Architecture of Walt Disney,” will feature the work of Walt Disney Imagineering, the creative force behind the Disney theme parks, as well as more than 30 architects, such as Frank Gehry, Michael Graves and Helmut Jahn, who’ve helped design the company’s office buildings, hotels, sports facilities and resorts.

Orange County works on display will include the Gehry-designed Team Disney Anaheim administration building at Disneyland, as well elements of the park itself.

“Disneyland was considered the starting point,” said Disney spokesman Ken Green. “That was the real beginning of the company’s interest in architecture.”

The exhibit will be on view in Venice from Sept. 15 through Nov. 17.