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LHSA+DP Creates Fantasy Interiors For New Make-A-Wish Foundation New Jersey Location

Monroe Township, NJ, USA  /PRNewswire/ — Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership (LHSA+DP) has announced the opening of the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of New Jersey’s new wish-granting facility for children with life-threatening illnesses, where theatrical magic and fantasy bring to life children’s wish-making experience in an imaginative and whimsical setting.

The Samuel & Josephine Plumeri Wishing Place is the new home of Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Jersey, founded in 1983. The remarkable new facility – the first ever built – results from a collaboration between LHSA+DP and Adirondack Studios along with RHM Associates, the building architect. The 20,000-square-foot wish-granting facility serves seriously ill kids and their families throughout the Garden State.

Known for innovative exhibit design, children’s museums, schools and immersive architectural environments, LHSA+DP designed the colorful interiors with an enchanted garden theme. Large murals and theatrical environments greet children and their families, creating a special “wish experience” to enhance the renowned Make-A-Wish program.

“This Wishing Place has become a meaningful and organized opportunity for children and caregivers who visit the castle to facilitate the granting of their unique wishes,” says LHSA+DP principal, Lee Skolnick, FAIA. “We created an experience that merges a child’s imagination with the uplifting, caring message that this organization brings to children who need it most.”

The wish child’s experience starts with a magical-style theme of heraldic banners and faux-medieval wall tapestries decorated with fantastical animals such as dragons and unicorns. From the Welcome Hall, a double-height atrium, guests glimpse images of a fantastical garden and, outdoors, a real forest and pond. A floor labyrinth draws them further inside.

Colorful stained-glass windows feature illustrations of Make-A-Wish children – some in wheelchairs, others with hair loss typical of medical treatments – in heroic poses as princes and princesses. Elaborately illustrated murals elsewhere reveal the world of possibilities children can enjoy even when life seems to offer only an escalating series of limitations.

Said Tom Weatherall, President and CEO of Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Jersey, “The act of wishing should be a uniquely magical moment, an event that is somehow out of the ordinary, taking place in an environment free of limitations, confinement or stress.”

Based in New York City, Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership (www.skolnick.com) is an award-winning, multidisciplinary design and architecture firm specializing in education, museum and corporate facilities, exhibits, interactive experiences and graphic identity.Contact:
 
For more information about Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership, contact Jo Ann Secor via email at [email protected] or phone at 212.989.2624

Joe Kleiman
Joe Kleimanhttp://wwww.themedreality.com
Raised in San Diego on theme parks, zoos, and IMAX films, InPark's Senior Correspondent Joe Kleiman would expand his childhood loves into two decades as a projectionist and theater director within the giant screen industry. In addition to his work in commercial and museum operations, Joe has volunteered his time to animal husbandry at leading facilities in California and Texas and has played a leading management role for a number of performing arts companies. Joe previously served as News Editor and has remained a contributing author to InPark Magazine since 2011. HIs writing has also appeared in Sound & Communications, LF Examiner, Jim Hill Media, The Planetarian, Behind the Thrills, and MiceChat His blog, ThemedReality.com takes an unconventional look at the attractions industry. Follow on twitter @ThemesRenewed Joe lives in Sacramento, California with his wife, dog, and a ghost.

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