Taiwan records new theme park

Brennan & Whalley this week saw almost two years of work come to fruition when Dame Margaret Thatcher opened the new 13m Guinness World of Records theme park in Taiwan.

The 10 500m2 park is the latest Guinness World of Records exhibition in a growing world-wide chain. London exhibition specialist Brennan & Whalley has previously worked on other Guinness exhibitions in England, Denmark and the US.

The consultancy has also completed a study for the US-based operator of the chain, Ripley Entertainment, into the design direction of existing and future sites. The study is expected to influence future design work towards a more interactive style incorporating more technology, says director Dennis Brennan.

Ripley is still looking for a new site in London to build a replacement Guinness World of Records after the Trocadero site closed last year, confirms Ripley’s exhibitions director Paul Burns. He adds that the new concept is still being developed, without specific sites in mind.

Brennan expects to be involved in future work in Europe and the Far East, but recognises that US designers are likely to get work on new US attractions such as the US$15m (10m) showcase planned for Orlando in Florida.

For the Taiwan project in Taichung, Brennan & Whalley prepared all the design concepts for the exhibits and the main 1320m2 exhibition hall.

Produced in the UK, audio-visual resources and lighting were designed by David Willrich and David Atkinson. Tim Cooksey created the exhibits.