People of the Attractions: Adeleh Basiri

Growing up in Iran, Adeleh Basiri spent endless hours building treehouses and whole villages crafted out of Lego bricks. So, it was only natural that she later pursued an advanced degree in architectural studies. Her schooling led to work developing large-scale urban planning projects. When Basiri accepted a job at architectural company Sepidsazan, the firm’s CEO told Basiri that they planned to build a theme park and that the then 28-year-old would be the project manager. Basiri let him know that she had no idea where to start.

“Well, no one in Iran really knows how to build one,” she recalls her boss saying. While the country has amusement parks, few incorporate storytelling and themed design. “We have no choice. We’ll figure it out ourselves,” Basiri recalls hearing from her CEO.

And that’s what Basiri did. She and her team dove into research, learning all they could about how to create a world-class park. Due to changes in the governmental agencies that commissioned the project, it was eventually halted. However, this didn’t stop Basiri, as she had already embraced her new career path in themed entertainment.

The budding attraction designer was delighted to learn that another company, Parsis Zarmehr Kish, was also charged with developing a theme park in Iran as part of a larger resort on Kish Island, a popular vacation spot. Basiri, who had become Sepidsazan’s acting CEO, pitched her company to consult on the park. While they didn’t reach an agreement, Basiri was offered a position to lead the project’s design team by Mostafa Ziaratnia, Parsis Zarmehr Kish’s deputy CEO and the park’s visionary.

“The central narrative revolves around a group of pirates that, through a magical transformation, have turned into pirate cats,” Basiri explains. At the park’s center will be a castle housing a dark ride that tells the origin story of the feline buccaneers. “The entire park is envisioned as one cohesive land with a unified identity populated by characters who live in different neighborhoods, each with its own unique culture and personality,” she adds.

There will be indoor and outdoor areas totaling 40,000 square meters. Plans call for 12 attractions in total. (Interestingly, one of them will be bumper cars, which are wildly popular in Iran and draw crowds of spectators as well as riders.) Basiri and her team finished the design phase of the Kish theme park earlier this year, and it is now under construction. Its primary audience will be the 90 million people who live in Iran and are increasingly seeking leisure experiences.

I asked Basiri if it is unusual for a woman, especially one as young as her, to direct such a high-profile project in her country.

“Female managers are still quite rare, particularly in the entertainment and construction industries,” she acknowledges. “I had to work hard to gain the trust of the organization and to lead my team, which consisted mostly of men. In general, I believe being a woman in a leadership role in the Middle East takes a certain kind of bravery.”

Basiri says that she is proud to have helped develope Iran’s first major theme park, which, she hopes, will spur additional development. With her work on the Kish project completed, she is seeking new opportunities both at home and abroad.

“My passion is the themed entertainment industry,” says Basiri.