Carnegie Mellon brothers Matthew Ho, ’14, and John Brieger, ’14, are two of Disney’s youngest creative minds. In January the pair found themselves on the winning team of Walt Disney Imagineering’s “Imaginations” competition.

The competition, sponsored by the design and development arm for Walt Disney Theme Parks, called on students to transform a densely populated urban area. The SigEp brothers’ submission, “Antipode,” designed a cultural exchange festival held at opposite ends of the Earth: Lima, Peru and Bangkok, Thailand.

Determined to be different

Ho’s childhood trips to Disneyland fostered a lifelong interest in Imagineering that led him to Carnegie Mellon’s architecture program. In college, Ho became a mentor to Brieger, who shared his design interests. The two resolved to compete in the Imaginations competition together, and teamed up with fellow classmates Angeline Chen and Christina Brant to form their design team.

Brieger said that SigEp helped inform their project. Their chapter brings together men from diverse backgrounds, and they knew cultural exchange could be a transformative experience. Ho and Brieger appreciated that their brothers were excited about the project. They critiqued their presentations, provided feedback and helped them polish their interview skills for the competition. One brother with extended family in Lima, even helped the team with the design and placement of the project’s proposed installation.

Brieger said that his college years have broadened his cultural intelligence and shown him the value of embracing people of different cultures. The aim for “Antipode” was to share that experience with the world.

In the year after their win, Ho has continued to dream up new ideas alongside Disney’s Imagineers through a yearlong internship with the company. Brieger, who will graduate this December, plans to return to Apple Inc., where he has spent the past two summers working in interaction design.

The aim for “Antipode” was to show two cities the immense value in their differences, and the important ways that they are the same.