Destination Design Firm Publishes ‘Inspiration from Nature’

PGAV Destinations explores the basic origins of inspiration

(St. Louis, MO – August 30, 2016) – World-renowned, St. Louis-based destination design firm PGAV Destinations has just published the latest in its series of destination guest research reports, Inspiration from Nature.

“Whether you look around the world or within a single family, you’ll find a wide range of tastes and ways of living: we like different foods, wear different clothes, hum different music – yet we all feel the same pull toward nature,” says Mike Konzen, principal and chair of PGAV Destinations. “The relationship between nature and destinations is powerful, yet often easy to forget when we spend so much time inside climate-controlled buildings, staring at screens. We decided to a critical look at where much of our destination inspiration comes from and why visitors find it so moving.”

Learning from international studies, as well as attraction guest testimonials and destination designer reflections, Inspiration from Nature explores how the unbuilt, wild, natural world inspires and influences design. The book also delves into the human psyche and the sociological impact nature has on us; and therefore, how destinations designed with inspiration from nature influence guests.

Excerpt: At the University of Chicago, researchers found that “having ten more trees in a city block, on average, improves health perception in ways comparable to an increase in annual personal income of $10,000, moving to a neighborhood with $10,000 higher median income, or being seven years younger.”

Packed with colorful, stunning photos of vistas from around the world, the book also features PGAV-designed zoos, museums, aquariums, theme parks, water parks, and resorts. Both destination designers with 30+ years of experience and new, talented team members share their stories of how lessons from nature helped to inspire some of the most moving, recognizable attraction experiences around the world.

From the misty peaks of Machu Picchu, to the silence of orbiting Earth at 75,000 m.p.h., to the roaring frost of Antarctica, Inspiration from Nature unravels a variety of ecosystems around the planet, their effect on us, and how various PGAV Destinations projects have been inspired by these wild environments.

• Reconnecting explores how nature can ground us and bring us back to center;
• Wilderness examines the exhilaration of exploration;
• Water delves into the soothing and mysterious effects of running rivers, lakes, and oceans;
• Landscapes analyzes our brains’ need to organize and create patterns, even in the seeming chaos of nature;
• Vantage Points unpacks the thrill we feel when we leave the safety of ground far behind;
• Extreme Terrain explores our desire to truly test our limits;
• Animals seeks to understand what might be our closest connection to the truly natural world;
• And Gardens shows the positive impact that getting hands-on with nature, and helping to sculpt it, has on us.

The condensed version of Inspiration of Nature, along with numerous other PGAV studies and publications, can be found online for free at www.pgavdestinations.com/Insights. The full publication of Inspiration from Nature is available upon request. Previous publications may also be requested: Voice of the Visitor: 2016 Annual Outlook on the Attractions Industry, Storytelling: It Can Change Your Mind, and The Art of the Family Vacation.

About PGAV Destinations
PGAV Destinations is a global leader in the planning and design of unique destinations. Now entering its sixth decade, the practice has evolved to become the ideal destination-consulting partner, skilled at developing growth-oriented master plans and translating those plans into successful projects. No other firm offers such an integrated approach to destination planning. 

PGAV’s key clients include industry leaders such as Delaware North Companies, SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, the Biltmore Companies, Bass Pro Shops, Ameristar Casinos, Universal Studios, The Gettysburg Foundation, the Saint Louis Zoo, and many others. Recent assignments include planning and design at many of the world’s “must see” destinations, including the Grand Canyon, Biltmore Estate, Space Shuttle Atlantis, Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, the Georgia Aquarium, the Hoover Dam, and SeaWorld Adventure Parks. www.PGAVDestinations.com