In late 2006, Atkins was selected to be the architects and engineers for a theme park based on one of the most successful book and movie series written in the last 20 years—J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter. Over the next 3.5 years, the Atkins team worked closely with Universal Creative, Warner Brothers, and the movie set designers to design the buildings that house the attractions, restaurants, and shops, and the engineering infrastructure that supports the rides and shows for the 20-acre “Wizarding World of Harry Potter” at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. The design team was challenged to create a real place from an imaginary place based on books and movies—in other words, to bring a story to life in three dimensions.

In addition to providing designs that would protect the life, health, and well-being of the general public, the goal was also to accurately replicate the places and events described in the books. Every detail of the story is conveyed in the building materials, signage, set pieces, and show action equipment. The dark ride entitled the Forbidden Journey uses state-of-the-art technology: a robotic arm on top of a trackless ride vehicle moves the rider seamlessly through both real and digitally projected scenes.

In June 2011, an industry report estimated attendance at the park to be up by approximately 36 percent in the year since the attraction opened in June 2010, with nearly 6 million visitors to the new area of the park. Supported by such figures, Universal Studios could claim the title of the fastest growing theme park in the world for 2010, with performance in the third quarter of 2011 that was the strongest in its 20-year history.

The attraction won the following 2011 Themed Entertainment Association awards:

• Technical Achievement Award, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Thematic Integration of Retail, Food & Beverage
• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Feature Attraction
• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Best New Theme Park Land

Universal elements and all related indicia TM & © 2012 Universal Studios. All rights reserved. HARRY POTTER, characters, names and related indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment. Inc. Harry Potter Publishing Rights © JKR. (s12)

• Architecture
• Architectural engineering
• Geomatics/surveying
• Landscape architecture
• Structures

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