ABSTRACT
The theming of everyday life has reached at least a temporary apogee. No longer is the intensely narrated experience of space exclusive to the theme park; back-stories engineered to affect moods, organize movement, and compel engagement have moved first to the realm of retail design, then to urban redevelopment, and most recently to health and palliative care facilities. From the experience of shopping to the experience of dementia and the experience of death, 1 the narrative control of an individual’s experience is arguably central to commercial success. As a result, today’s commercial design practices, from real estate development to urban planning and from architecture to industrial design, have responded, borrowing design techniques and spatial planning logics from the entertainment industry examples we have just seen. When the mall becomes a lifestyle village; the hospital, a lifestyle enhancement center; and the Alzheimer’s treatment center, a memory care center, there is more than euphemism at work. It is certainly fair to say that the intents of these changes are often beneficent, and in the case of dementia care, even noble, but the convergence of experiential concern with the commercial intents of the entertainment industry does raise some significant questions that don’t appear to be addressed in any of the highly promotional literature that accompanies their advance. In particular, questions concerning the commercial origins of the Experience Economy seem highly relevant, as they mark one of the first transitions toward the infusion of entertainment-industry models into the world beyond the theme park.
