Team Disney in Orlando, Florida is the main office building in Disney World, in which many of its group companies will be located.
Disney World, the conception of Walt Disney as a model for the future city, is on a vast site of ?28,000 acres (twice the size of Manhattan). A freeway crosses it and the building lies in an area near the main entrance to Walt Disney World off the freeway exit.
The building extends ?250meters on a northsouth axis and is divided into ?3 blocks. Most of the office functions are in the north and south blocks, ? 4 stories in height. These blocks have an elongated atrium on the axis lit by natural light from clear story windows on the roofs. Floating passages and stairs connect the offices across the divide for convenience. The exterior curtain wall is of reflective glass and aluminum put together on a flat surface.
The main entrance is in the center blocks. A noticeable feature here is a truncated cone shape containing a courtyard open to the sky. The cone supports a huge stylus which throws shadows into the interior space acting as a sundial indicating the time and seasons. The graduation scale pattern of the sundial is shown on the outside and becomes a design feature on the exterior. The height and diameter at ground level of the cone is ?36 meters.
2 cubic blocks on the east and west sides have exterior walls in a checker pattern made of ?2 kinds of granite. The east block houses the entrance hall and the west, conference rooms on the third level. The main entrance and the door leading out to the interior court have canopies piercing the cube, assembled from ?2 cylinders and a slab, which geometrically suggests the head of Mickey Mouse. This canopy becomes both a visual and functional focal point, inviting people into the building.
An artificial lake is placed around the building and the total silhouette of the architecture with its reflection suggests the building is the flagship leading and supporting the Disney World.