What is Architainment?

Perhaps you’ve heard the term “architainment” before, but you don’t know what it means. Or, perhaps you’re wondering what an architainment project looks like.

Either way, this article will give you an introduction to architainment and a look at Jora Vision’s stunning theme park design.

As the name suggests, architainment is a blend of architecture and traditional elements from live event design, such as lighting and scenic elements.

Like experiential design, architainment is rooted in the goal of crafting immersive experiences that can entertain, enchant, and inform audiences.

In architainment, architectural elements go beyond simply providing structure to your space. Instead, they’re a crucial way to tell stories with your designs.

Designing facades and interiors can reflect narrative themes or cultural motifs, drawing inspiration from history, literature, or fantasy worlds. Architectural forms can also blend organic and geometric shapes to create environments that feel imaginative and unique. 

Every element, from grand entrances to intimate alcoves, should be considered for its contribution to the overall experience, guiding visitors through a choreographed journey that supports the narrative of your architainment project.

Similarly to architectural elements, scenic props provide the tactile and visual details that bring architainment projects to life. These may include themed props, set pieces, and interactive installations that invite exploration and play, as well as artistic treatments like murals, sculptures, or custom finishes that reinforce the narrative and immerse visitors in the story.

Scenic design often incorporates flexible, modular components that can adapt to different events, audiences, or seasons, encouraging ongoing engagement and novelty. Together, these scenic touches help transform ordinary spaces into extraordinary experiences for your visitors.

Lastly, there’s lighting, which can be a transformative tool within architainment. Using lighting design effectively allows you to set a mood, highlight features, and direct the attention and emotion of your audience.

Lighting enhances storytelling by spotlighting key architectural or scenic moments and creating dynamic transitions between scenes or spaces. Importantly, lighting is integrated seamlessly with both architecture and scenic elements so that your technical requirements don’t compromise the artistic vision.

Jora Vision, a Dutch creative powerhouse behind some of the world’s most imaginative parks and attractions, has perfected the blend of storytelling and architecture, using Vectorworks software as their all-in-one design tool to turn fantasy into reality.

Jora Vision tackles everything from restoring antique carousel horses to master-planning entire resorts. Their architainment projects demand flexible, precise tools. Whether it’s modeling organic shapes with tools like the Subdivision tool and the Deform tool or coordinating data-rich floorplans and elevations, Vectorworks empowers Jora Vision to maintain artistic integrity while managing technical complexity.

“Before Vectorworks, switching between 2D and 3D was a hassle,” said Andrea van der Vlis, senior design lead at Jora Vision. Now, thanks to Vectorworks’ hybrid drawing environment, their team effortlessly moves between 2D plans, 3D models, and data-driven visualizations, keeping technical and creative design connected.

One of Jora Vision’s recent triumphs is Bommelwereld, a new indoor theme park in the Netherlands inspired by the beloved comic character Olivier B. Bommel. In under a few months, the team designed a fully themed world packed with 19 attractions across a 9,000-square-meter space.

From capacity planning to whimsical façade modeling, Jora Vision could quickly shift between technical requirements and creative storytelling, staying true to the spirit of the classic comics while meeting modern building standards.

“Some buildings were only ever sketched once in a comic 40 years ago,” van der Vlis noted. “It was a lovely challenge to bring that world to life — and Vectorworks made it possible.”

Featured image courtesy of Jora Vision.