The US pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai is to be designed by the experiential design and production agency Thinkwell Group and will explore "the exciting future made possible by American innovation, vision, and enterprise". The building will be designed in such a way as to appear to be moving at times and will house exhibits about journeying to Mars, the city of the future and 3D-printed prosthetics and organs. It

ACTVENTURE, the multi-million-dollar leisure and lifestyle mega-destination underway on the Sunshine Coast of Australia, is eyeing a rollout to the United Arab Emirates. US practice Thinkwell Group designed the plan for the AU$400m (US$305m, €280.7m, £243m) Queensland venture, with Canadian waterpark specialist WhiteWater West working on the waterpark. Members of ACTVENTURE’s advisory board – including Talal Najibi, executive chair of Najibi Investments, WhiteWater CEO Geoff Chutter, Joe Zenas, CEO of

Australia’s first “Active Lifestyle” project is coming closer to reality, with the Sunshine Coast Council granting development approval for the first phase of the $400m (US$305m, €280.7m, £243m) Queensland venture. SANAD Capital – the Australian offshoot of Dubai-based investment firm Najibi Group – is developing the project, called ACTIVE, across a 25 hectare plot on Steve Irwin Way, which it purchased in January 2016. The council has now approved 14

The Sanad Capital investment group is planning an AU$400m (US$302m, €271m, £245.6m) “active lifestyle” destination in Queensland, Australia. Sanad – the Australian offshoot of Dubai-based investment firm Najibi Group – is financing the “never-before seen in Australia” project, which will feature extreme water facilities and an Olympic-standard training centre. The mixed-use project will also have a 4-star hotel, conference and exhibition centre, restaurants and retail elements. The development is expected

Global experience design and production agency Thinkwell Group have appointed former Walt Disney Imagineering executive Diane Michioka as their new vice president of production. Michioka, who has more than to decade of experience working in short and long-term strategic project planning, show producing, and creative team management, will have a key role in assisting the business development team with client relations and proposal development, as well as guiding, strategizing, and

Experience designers Thinkwell Group have created a new 25,000sq ft (2,300sq m) addition to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood, a finale to the backlot attraction and the culmination of a two year project exploring how films and TV shows are made. The new aspect of the Los Angeles attraction, known as ‘Stage 48: Script to Screen’, provides cutting-edge technology to create a hands-on look at the world of filmmaking,

Plans are back on track for a new Warner Bros theme park in Abu Dhabi, as the number of attractions in the Middle East continues to grow. The multi-billion dollar deal was announced in 2007, but stalled during the global recession. The scheme will include the creation of a 19-ride theme park and a hotel, along with multiplex cinemas, jointly owned by Warner Bros, Abu Dhabi-based property developer Aldar Properties

US-based exhibition design company Thinkwell has been appointed to design the Harry Potter visitor attraction at Leavesden Studios, UK. Although exact details of the attraction are to be revealed, Thinkwell said the site will give the general public the ability to tour several of the original Harry Potter film sets. The studios, near Watford, Hertforshire, were acquired by Warner Bros in November last year (2010). Shortly after, the US-based film