Isla Kai – University of Florida

An Immersive Underwater Experience By Olivia Grinage

INTRO 

Before diving into Isla Kai, I’m Olivia Grinage and I’m a second-year Interior Design major at the University of Florida! I’ve been developing my projects to have a themed entertainment focus because of my interests in master planning and creating immersive interior spaces.

OVERVIEW

Isla Kai essentially merges two projects together: My first ever video flythrough of a personal project from winter break, Sir Crab’s Tiki Bar, and the second being an experiential restaurant from my Design 4 studio this spring at UF, Mantarraya Coral Reef Restaurant. I combined both and thought about how they could be connected in a theme park setting with real-world considerations. So, with all of that said, let’s explore Isla Kai!

CONCEPT

The concept is to foster an adventurous atmosphere through interactions with an immersive underwater themed land. Utilizing bold colors and finishes, as well as scenic props, the space will promote an appreciation for sea life while educating guests on the importance of ocean conservation.

Mantarraya Coral Reef Restaurant – Cave Bar

STORY / NARRATIVE

After a massive hurricane swept through the east coast of Florida, a mysterious new island emerged from the depths of the sea. Discovered and overtaken by sea life, Isla Kai is now run solely by animals, employing humans to help with the operations of its newest theme park on the island. Here, families will interact with Sir Crab, who is in charge of the island and even has his own Tiki Bar, along with many other creatures with their own themed attractions. However, little do the humans know that once they set foot through the portal to underwater, they may be stuck under the surface… forever.

GUEST EXPERIENCE THROUGH MASTER PLANNING

Upon entering the land, guests will be greeted by a lush, tropical oasis. Surrounded by palm trees and plenty of foliage, guests will meander through the rainforest setting while the rest of the above-water area of the land slowly comes into view. Guests will stumble upon merchandise locations and thrilling attractions while still having wide open walkways for egress, as well as plenty of space for stroller parking. The land was designed with zones for high and low sensory stimulation, which will be covered more below. 

PLACEMAKING

Placemaking is especially valuable and relevant within theme parks because of how nature, lighting, sounds, landscapes, and signage are all so closely interrelated and carefully controlled for the guest experience. 

• People-Centered Approach: Specifically with Isla Kai, the approach to the planning process was people-centered at its core. By keeping in mind the end user, each area of the land was able to be integrated together into the most cohesive possible space. The little details throughout the land, including interactive signage which details the types of trees on the island, will encourage guests to live in the moment by not requiring the usage of smartphones.
• Districts: There will be no live animals on Isla Kai. Instead, the island will capture the essence of the tropical environment with storytelling and two distinct areas which have their own unique characteristics when people are inside each of them.
• Boundaries / Edges: An essential part of the effectiveness of placemaking is transitions between spaces. Isla Kai has a variety of hard and soft transitions: Outside to inside, organic flowing paths to sharper queue lines, above-water to under water, etc. These boundaries frame design decisions in order to allow guests to best understand – and respond to – the environment as a whole. 
• Nodes: Isla Kai’s nodes were placed strategically with flexibility to be adjusted based on guest patterns. Nodes serve as the focal points of the land for guests to frequent, often in much higher concentrations than other areas.
• Landmarks: In the above-water area of Isla Kai, Sir Crab’s Tiki Bar serves as the primary landmark. On the other hand, the primary landmark in the underwater area is Mantarraya Coral Reef Restaurant. These both continue to foster the sense of place that is needed to deeply resonate the land with its guests.

Mantarraya Coral Reef Restaurant – Ship Dining Room

OPERATIONS / EGRESS

When it comes to operations, designers provide the baseline for which the ops teams are able to provide the best possible experience, whether that be the operations of a ride or show, or just the overall flow of guests. As a designer, learning from current parks is critical to be able to witness firsthand how effective a space truly is. Listening to current ops teams throughout the design process and applying their corrections to current logistical problems will help to mitigate those same issues from occurring in the future. 

In my design specifically, I wanted to explore the possibilities of how to disperse crowds through a land with only a single point of entry and egress. Creating connected pathways and thinking through the paths that would have the most guest traffic helped to visualize the walking guest experience.

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS

• Finishes: Non-slip flooring materials in interior spaces and exterior pathways with proper drainage are essential, especially on rainy days.
• Lighting: The lighting in interior spaces will comply with ADA standards by being the proper distance above the finished floor and not trigger photosensitive epilepsy by flickering or flashing.
• Sensory Zoning: In the Master Plan, consideration was made for high and low sensory individuals, with intimate, cove-like areas for more private escapes as well as higher sensory areas to best serve hyper-sensitive and hypo-sensitive guests. The map which illustrates the story and zones of play throughout Isla Kai is set up in a logical way so that visual wayfinding can serve as a means of orienting guests.

Sir Crab’s Tiki Bar

Mantarraya Coral Reef Restaurant – Underwater Tunnel Dining Room

Mantarraya Coral Reef Restaurant – Floor Plans

THANK YOU

I truly appreciate the time you’ve taken to look at my designs, and I hope you enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed creating them. I know I still have much more to learn and I’m excited to see how much I grow over the next few years! 

Have a splashtacular day! – Olivia

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/oliviagrinage/

Website: oliviagrinage.wixsite.com/portfolio 

Contact: olivia.grinage@gmail.com