“Any museum professional, group, or institution working in a constantly evolving environment will find resonance in Margaret Chandra Crissman’s new book—especially those committed to visitor-centered institutions. The book issues a direct call to action for public space designers: place narrative at the heart of creating meaningful experiences.” — Reimagining the World

If you are planning to open a brick-and-mortar store, if you are an existing business owner with a physical storefront, or if you are a community leader active in physical spaces, then this book is tailor-made for you! It brilliantly explains and champions the creation of meaningful places. The author’s explanations are thorough and easy to follow, and the book is richly illustrated with numerous photos and diagrams.
— The StoryGraph Ltd. (Book Review)

★ The debut from Margaret Chandra Kresson, a multi-award-winning immersive‑narrative expert and scholar, former Disney Imagineer, and Airbnb’s Senior Creative Lead for Experiences! She served as an Imagineer and narrative consultant on global projects including Disney’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Avengers Campus, National Geographic’s headquarters, and the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex’s comprehensive guest experience area.
★ Bob Weis, a global leader in immersive‑experience design, Gensler’s Global Leader of Immersive Experience Design, and former President of Walt Disney Imagineering, has written the foreword to this book. During his tenure at Disney, Bob led more than 200 major projects worldwide, with a combined capital value exceeding $30 billion.
★ Spanning creative expression, artistic design, popular culture, public experience, architectural science, new media technologies, and commercial development—this timely and vital manifesto calls for the creation of meaningful places, urging environmental and experience designers to deliver “human‑centered” immersive experiences. It advocates for imaginative, dreamlike, interactive, and rewarding experiences that blur the boundaries between reality and imagination.
★ Against the backdrop of a global shift toward higher‑value consumption, the booming “immersion+” model is emerging as a new growth driver for cultural, commercial, and tourism sectors—and a powerful source of revenue and audience engagement. This highly practical work draws on collective wisdom, professional expertise, and real‑world experience to share invaluable lessons for reshaping shopping centers and retail, museums and cultural institutions, theme parks and theaters, along with insights gleaned from conversations with leading visionaries and designers around the world.
★ Richly illustrated, accessible, and clearly structured, this volume underscores the importance of storytelling and identity‑building, highlighting the significance of leveraging media art, digital imagery, special effects, and other cutting‑edge communication tools, as well as the value of crafting layered, multidimensional, multifunctional landscape‑public spaces. It also offers guidance and inspiration for practitioners and enthusiasts in fields such as escape rooms, immersive theater, brand storytelling, and literary, artistic, and cinematic narrative.

In this highly inspiring work, author Margaret Chandra Christen shares her unique insights, drawn from her experience as a former Disney Imagineer and as a Paul Helmle Fellow at the California Institute of Technology in Pomona.
This book delves into the possibilities of the realm of the unknown and the imagined, envisioning a world that better nurtures a profound sense of belonging and authentic self-expression. By integrating “storytelling” with “architectural design” and “experience design,” it helps spark the creation of meaningful places, fostering tighter-knit communities and shared values. Through this narrative lens, she encourages us to imagine and build a world we truly long to inhabit—a thriving environment marked by both collaboration and purpose. Environmental designers, experience designers, and writers hold both the power and the responsibility to shape such a world, sharing stories that resonate deeply within each visitor. So how do we define this “craft”? Is it more science or more art? What does it encompass? On the subjects of “storytelling” and “how to tell stories,” the author will offer a wealth of collective wisdom.
“Architecture is the ultimate immersive experience,” Christen says. “When we create environments deliberately designed to be human-centered and narrative-driven, we invite community, play, and engagement in ways that matter. We need more spaces that nurture a sense of play, accomplishment, and purpose in our lives.”

Margaret Chandra Krislin
Margaret is an award-winning narrative expert and scholar, writer, and experience designer who crafts compelling stories across diverse industries. Born in Indonesia and raised in Singapore, she earned a Master’s degree in Screenwriting from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. With nearly two decades of professional experience in television, film, digital media, games, brand storytelling, location-based themed entertainment, and immersive experiences, her books, talks, and projects consistently explore the frontiers of immersive narrative in both real and imagined worlds.

She has served as a story‑narrative leader, story consultant, and writer on numerous projects around the globe, including Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Star Wars: Launch Bay, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, Avengers Campus, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind—a closed‑loop roller coaster—and other iconic attractions, as well as National Geographic’s headquarters and NASA Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex’s Journey to Mars: Explorers Wanted, among others. From 2014 to 2021, she was a Disney Imagineer, ultimately holding the position of Managing Story Editor at Walt Disney Imagineering. She is currently Senior Head of Experience Creative at Airbnb. In 2023, she became a Paul Helmle Fellow in the Department of Architecture at Pomona College in California.

Her previous work, Immersive Storytelling in Real and Imagined Worlds, was published by Michael Wiese Productions in August 2022.
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P.S.
Disney’s “Imagineering” division is jokingly referred to as the least profitable department. Established in 1952 by Disney founder Walt Disney, it is one of the company’s most important—and highest‑paid—divisions, with its primary mission being imagination itself. Before Shanghai Disneyland was built, the first step was to select 150 Imagineers. The selection process was extremely rigorous: the company required these 150 individuals to come from diverse cultural backgrounds and fields, and to possess a wealth of creative vision.

Preface
Greetings

Why This Book?

The Past and Present Foreshadow the Future

Narrative Place-Making in the Built Environment

Form and Function Follow Fulfillment

Shared Space: Why Do We Need It?
We Are Social Beings
The Luxury of Laziness

Why Start with Stories?

Identity and Influence: A Place Stands for Something
What Does It Mean to Give a Place an Identity?
Understanding Values
Design with Intention: The Promise of Shared Places
Building Community: We Are What We Repeatedly Do

Changing Perspectives
Waking from a Trance
Making Time for Play
Immersing Ourselves in Nature
Embracing Collective Rituals
Valuing Creation and Connection Over Consumption
All That Is Old Is New Again
One Step at a Time: Letting Go of Perfectionism
Stories within Stories

Reimagining Places for People, Play, and Purpose
Reinventing the Theater
Reinventing Shopping Centers and Retail
Reinventing Hotels
Reinventing Theme Parks
Reinventing Museums and Cultural Institutions
Reinventing Parks and Gardens

Conversations with Visionaries and Designers
“An Obsession with the Audience”: A Conversation with Joe Rohde
“Be Your Own Protagonist”: A Conversation with Evan Kwee
“More Storytelling in Design”: A Conversation with Bob Weis
“The Sacred Trickster”: A Conversation with Barbara Gross
“The Selfless Architect”: A Conversation with George Proctor
“The Adorable City”: A Conversation with Mark Wee
“Moments That Take Your Breath Away”: A Conversation with Diana Williams
“No Form”: A Conversation with Fabian Rieger
“Listen”: A Conversation with Nancy Seruto
“Immersion Above the Neck”: A Conversation with Taylor Stormer
“The Desirability Factor”: A Conversation with Welby Altidor
“Shake My Body”: A Conversation with Bryce Crissen

Final Thoughts: Creativity Begins with Curiosity

Acknowledgments
Recommended Reading
About the Author
Endnotes