Career & Credentials
Nearly four decades, six continents
Richard L. Winget is among the most accomplished naturalistic environment builders working in the industry today. His theme park work includes some of the most recognized environments in the world — at Disneyland, contributions to Pirates of the Caribbean, Finding Nemo, Tom Sawyer's Island, Splash Mountain, the Matterhorn, Downtown Disney's Rain Forest Cafe, California Adventure, and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, carried out across multiple decades. Additional credits include Universal Studios and major SeaWorld installations including the iconic Manta Coaster rock formation, Turtle Reef, and Dolphin Point.
His zoo and aquarium portfolio is equally substantial, with naturalistic habitat projects at the Los Angeles Zoo, Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, the St. Louis Zoo, Tulsa Zoo, John Ball Zoo, the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific, Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City, and the Negev Zoo in Be'er Sheba, Israel. That body of work has earned AZA Significant Achievement Awards for Exhibit Design, a CNR Regional Excellence Award, Readers' Choice Country's Best Exhibit, and a Top Ten Best Exhibit designation from IZEA and ZAA.
Freelance project work has taken Richard to Taipei, Rio de Janeiro, St. Thomas, Hawaii, Israel, and beyond, on projects ranging from millions to billions of dollars. His technical range covers the complete scope of rockwork fabrication: steel armature construction, structural planning, shotcrete and gunite application, finish sculpting, molding and casting, field art direction, and full color finishing — across cement, plaster, shotcrete, gunite, concrete, foam, epoxy, and resin.
Contractor's license, State of Virginia
Workers' compensation & liability insurance, current through 2026
CPR and First Aid certified
Union Local 200 Journeyman Rock Carver
Gold & Silver Awards, Western Pool and Spa Show — Best Water Feature, Best New Design Spa, Best New Design Pool
Featured in Landscape Management, Pool Science, Homes by Design, and Watershapes
Every project gets the same level of attention, whether bringing our own crew or integrating with an existing team on a larger build. If you have a project that needs someone who has been doing this at the highest level for a very long time, we'd like to hear about it.
