Cuningham Expands to Orlando with New Office
Cuningham is thrilled to announce the opening of its new office in Orlando, marking the firm’s seventh location in the United States and its first permanent presence in Florida. This expansion underscores Cuningham’s commitment to the region’s dynamic themed entertainment and hospitality industries.
Cuningham Associate Principal Kathleen Herrington will leverage her extensive experience delivering high-profile entertainment projects to lead both the new office and Cuningham’s Themed Entertainment Market.
“We are excited to continue deepening our creative connections in Orlando, a global hub of imagination and innovation,” Cuningham CEO Nathan Harris says. “This new office elevates our ability to collaborate with local clients and continue delivering immersive experiences that captivate and inspire.”
For nearly 40 years, Cuningham has delivered world-class entertainment experiences across North America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. From bold new builds to adaptive reuse of existing facilities and projects within existing parks, the firm’s expertise spans every phase of the design process, blending storytelling, technical precision, and client collaboration to create destinations that guests return to time and time again.
The new Orlando office enhances Cuningham’s geographic reach by serving as a strategic location to expand its other well-established market sectors, including healthcare, education, workplace, mixed-use, and residential. Across markets and geographical regions, Cuningham remains dedicated to providing its clients with creative and innovative design solutions that positively impact the communities where we live, learn, work, and play.
“We are incredibly excited to be putting down roots here in Orlando,” Associate Principal Kathleen Herrington says. “With decades of themed entertainment projects in the region and strong connections with both local and national clients, opening an office here feels like a natural progression, especially with exciting new work already underway.”
"Orlando’s creative energy and history of innovation align perfectly with Cuningham’s passion for crafting immersive, story-driven experiences that captivate and inspire."
Kathleen Herrington
Associate Principal | Themed Entertainment Market Sector Lead
Continuing a Tradition of Innovation
Cuningham’s entertainment practice began in 1986 with Universal Studios’ “Back to the Future,” where the firm helped develop the first motion-based simulator ride system. In the nearly four decades since, Cuningham’s global partnerships with leading entertainment and hospitality companies, including Walt Disney Imagineering, Universal Studios, and SeaWorld, have earned the firm recognition as a leader in creating complex, storytelling-driven designs.
Today, Cuningham’s expertise spans every aspect of the themed entertainment design process, from “blue sky” conceptualization through post-occupancy research. By listening and asking the right questions, Cuningham crafts solutions that enhance the experiential impact for guests.
“Orlando’s creative energy and history of innovation align perfectly with Cuningham’s passion for designing immersive, story-driven experiences that captivate and inspire,” Herrington says. “Establishing a physical presence in the city enables us to build on decades of bringing visionary concepts to life in close collaboration with our clients.”
