Architecture of Star Wars

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Star Wars filming location in Tunisia Star Wars in Tunisia.jpg
Star Wars filming location in Tunisia

Architecture in Star Wars includes the cities, buildings, ships, and other structures of the fictional Star Wars universe as described and depicted in books, movies, comics, and cartoons. Architects Journal ranked the top 10, including the Death Star and the Jedi Temple. [1]

Contents

Comparing the urban and natural environments pictured in Star Wars, Mark Lamster wrote that the cities are places of danger and corruption, while the forces of good find sanctuary in the natural world. [2] He also describes the "retro-futurist" cities in the series as being in between those extremes and places of "great beauty but dubious moral character." He attributes the ambivalence towards urbanity to series creator George Lucas' own feelings about cities and urban environments. [2]

The settings of the movie have generally been praised, but one author took exception to the "anachronistic period architecture and statuary" of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace , saying it improperly associated third world buildings with conceptions of innocence and the primitive in a way that was discriminatory and demeaning. [3]

Planet settings

Luke Skywalker is first seen in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope living with his adoptive parents in a "complex of caves and domed structures" on Tatooine, filmed in the Tunisian desert town of Matmata. [3] The end of the first movie was shot in the Guatemalan rain forest where a celebration with rebel allies takes place in a caved area (a scene said to be borrowed from Leni Riefenstahl's 1935 Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will [3] ). The exotic locales provide scenery that is unfamiliar to "all but a few experts in non-western architecture", providing the films with fantastic settings that could still be believable. [3]

Urban planning

In 1999, architecture and planning students noted that (The Phantom Menace) offered "a variety of urban development options". [4]

The "urban future" has also been depicted in Blade Runner where "the setting is a grimy, crime-ridden Los Angeles in the 21st century". [4] The architecture of Star Wars may also have been influenced by Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey . [3] The designs continued Lucas' work from his first feature film, THX 1138 , which featured a claustrophobic, Orwellian "subterranean world of black-and-white spaces" where the population is subdued with drugs and kept under constant surveillance. [3]

Jedi Temple

Architects' Journal rated the Jedi Temple (located in the capital planet of Coruscant) third on its top-ten architecture of Star Wars list behind the second Death Star and Jabba the Hutt’s palace on Tatooine, and ahead of Coruscant, capital city of the Old Republic. [1] The temple is described in the article as adapting "the robust typology of Mayan temples, with durasteel cladding specified for the external stone walls for improved defensive strength" and said to be a ziggurat that "is built above a Force-nexus and has ample room for training facilities, accommodation and the Jedi Archive." [1] The temple has five towers—the tallest is Tranquillity Spire—that are stylistically similar to the minarets surrounding the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. [1] Star Wars Insider listed it as the 100th greatest thing about Star Wars in its 100th-issue special.

Ships

The battle cruisers featured in Star Wars have been described as examples of "Suprematist architecture". [5]

Real world buildings that mirror Star Wars

The San Francisco Federal Building designed by Thom Mayne has been compared to the Jawa Sandcrawler featured in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope . [6] The ING headquarters building (in Amsterdam, Netherlands) has been described as looking like something out of Star Wars that could "move forward on its legs". [7] Conversely, the Trinity College, Dublin, Long Room Library is thought to be the basis for the Jedi Academy Library in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones . [8] [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jar Jar Binks</span> Star Wars character

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<i>Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace</i> 1999 American film by George Lucas

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Pernilla August, and Frank Oz. It is the fourth film in the Star Wars film series, the first film of the prequel trilogy and the first chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga". Set 32 years before the original trilogy, during the era of the Galactic Republic, the plot follows Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi as they try to protect Queen Padmé Amidala of Naboo in hopes of securing a peaceful end to an interplanetary trade dispute. Joined by Anakin Skywalker—a young slave with unusually strong natural powers of the Force—they simultaneously contend with the mysterious return of the Sith. The film was produced by Lucasfilm, with 20th Century Fox distributing.

<i>Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones</i> 2002 American film by George Lucas

Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. The sequel to The Phantom Menace (1999), it is the fifth film in the Star Wars film series and second chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga". The film stars Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz, Temuera Morrison, Silas Carson, and Jimmy Smits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darth Vader</span> Fictional character in the Star Wars franchise

Darth Vader is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. Star Wars creator George Lucas has collectively referred to the first six episodic films of the franchise as "the tragedy of Darth Vader". He has become one of the most iconic villains in popular culture, and has been listed among the greatest villains and fictional characters ever. His masked face is one of the most iconic character designs of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obi-Wan Kenobi</span> Fictional character in the Star Wars franchise

Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. Within the original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master as a supporting character and is portrayed by English actor Alec Guinness. In the later-released prequel trilogy, a younger version of the character serves as one of the two main protagonists, alongside Anakin Skywalker, and is portrayed by Scottish actor Ewan McGregor. In the original trilogy he is introduced as Ben Kenobi, an alias he uses while in hiding from the Empire. He is a mentor to Luke Skywalker, to whom he introduces the ways of the Jedi. After sacrificing himself in a duel against Darth Vader, Obi-Wan guides Luke through the Force in his fight against the Galactic Empire. In the prequel trilogy, set two decades earlier, he is initially a Padawan (apprentice) to Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, and later mentor and friend of Luke's father Anakin, who falls to the dark side of the Force and becomes Vader. The character briefly appears in the sequel trilogy as a disembodied voice, speaking to protagonist Rey. He is frequently featured as a main character in various other Star Wars media, including the streaming television miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi, in which McGregor reprised the role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qui-Gon Jinn</span> Fictional character in the Star Wars universe

Qui-Gon Jinn is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, played by Liam Neeson. He is a main character in the prequel film trilogy, serving as the protagonist of The Phantom Menace (1999). He appears briefly as a Force ghost in the 2008 animated series The Clone Wars, the season finale of the 2022 live-action series Obi-Wan Kenobi, along with Attack of The Clones and The Rise of Skywalker as a disembodied voice, with Neeson reprising his role in all of the above. Qui-Gon also appears in two episodes of Tales of the Jedi, which depicts some scenes from his life before the events of The Phantom Menace; Neeson voices adult Qui-Gon in the series, while his son Micheál Richardson voices Qui-Gon as a padawan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yoda</span> Fictional character in the Star Wars universe

Yoda is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, first appearing in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force and is a leading member of the Jedi Order until its near annihilation. In The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda was voiced and puppeteered by Frank Oz, who reprised the role in Return of the Jedi, the prequel trilogy, and the sequel trilogy. Outside of the films, the character was mainly voiced by Tom Kane, starting with the 2003 Clone Wars animated television series until his retirement from voice acting in 2021. Yoda is an iconic figure in popular culture due to his distinct pattern of speech and role as a wise mentor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatooine</span> Fictional planet in the Star Wars universe

Tatooine is a fictional desert planet that appears in the Star Wars franchise. It is a beige-colored, desolate world orbiting a pair of binary stars, and inhabited by human settlers and a variety of other life forms. The planet was first seen in the original 1977 film Star Wars, and has to date featured in a total of six Star Wars theatrical films, three live-action television series, and two animated series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coruscant</span> Fictional planet in Star Wars

Coruscant is an ecumenopolis planet in the fictional Star Wars universe. Its first appearance was on screen in the 1997 Special Edition of Return of the Jedi, but was first depicted and mentioned by name in Timothy Zahn's 1991 novel Heir to the Empire. Coruscant is a prominent location in both canon and Legends media that has been produced. Within the narrative of the films, Coruscant-based locations such as the Jedi Temple and Jedi Archives act as the home for the Jedi and in plot terms are frequently used for exposition or to drive other elements of the plot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watto</span> Fictional character in Star Wars

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tusken Raiders</span> Fictional alien race

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<i>Star Wars: Obi-Wan</i> 2001 video game

Star Wars: Obi-Wan is an action-adventure video game developed and published by LucasArts and released exclusively for Xbox on December 19, 2001 in North America and March 29, 2002 in Europe. Players control Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padawan to Qui-Gon Jinn. It takes place around 32 years before the Battle of Yavin, in the weeks prior to and during the events of The Phantom Menace. The game received generally mixed reviews upon its release.

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<i>Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace</i> (video game) 1999 video game

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is a 1999 action-adventure video game released by LucasArts and based on the film of the same title. The game is set in several different settings seen within the film. The game is set during the timeline of the film, with players taking on the role of Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and several other characters from the film. Each playable character has a unique weapon and ability. The game features open environments to explore at the player's leisure, and dozens of non-player characters with unique dialog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darth Maul</span> Star Wars character

Darth Maul, also known simply as Maul, is a character in the Star Wars franchise. He first appeared as the secondary antagonist of the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace as a powerful Sith Lord and Darth Sidious' first apprentice. Though seemingly killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi at the end of the film, Darth Maul returned in the 2008 computer animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Star Wars creator George Lucas had intended for the resurrected Maul to serve as the main antagonist of the sequel film trilogy, but these plans were abandoned when Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. The character nonetheless reappeared in the 2014 animated series Star Wars Rebels and the 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story, voiced again by Witwer; Park physically reprised the role in Solo. Since his initial defeat in The Phantom Menace, Maul has become an independent criminal mastermind and endured as Obi-Wan's archenemy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jabba the Hutt</span> Character in Star Wars

Jabba Desilijic Tiure, more commonly known as Jabba the Hutt, is a fictional character and minor antagonist in the Star Wars franchise. Created by George Lucas, Jabba is voiced by Larry Ward with several puppeteers inside a one-ton puppet portraying him in Return of the Jedi. He was originally supposed to first appear in Star Wars (1977) as a stop motion character with Declan Mulholland as his stand-in. Jabba was later added into the film as a CGI character when it was re-released in Special Edition in 1997. He also appears in the prequel movie The Phantom Menace. The character is a large slug-like creature based on annelid worms and originally designed as an apelike figure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Padmé Amidala</span> Fictional character in the Star Wars franchise

Padmé Amidala is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, appearing in the prequel trilogy portrayed by Natalie Portman. First indirectly mentioned in Return of the Jedi, she is introduced in The Phantom Menace as the teenage Queen of Naboo, and after her reign, becomes a senator and an anti-war activist in the Galactic Senate. She secretly marries Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight, then later dies while giving birth to twins Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. Anakin's fear of losing Padmé serves as the catalyst in driving him to the dark side of the Force and becoming Darth Vader.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 James Pallister Top 10: The Architecture of Star Wars (pt II) 15 June 2009 Architects Journal (UK)
  2. 1 2 Mark Lamster "Evil foes build ever-more-elaborate urban monstrosities- machines not for living but killing, and killing on a grand scale" Architecture and film Star Wars and the City page 6
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mark Lamster Architecture and film Wretched Hives: George Lucas and the Ambivalent Architecture of Star Wars page 234
  4. 1 2 Showley, Roger M. (30 May 1999). "Cosmic communities: How would you like to live on a 'Star Wars' world?". The San Diego Union-Tribune . pp. H1. ProQuest   271652593. Roger M. Showley "The latest "Star Wars" movie offers a variety of urban development options according to three architecture and planning students who previewed the film; from left, [Tim Belzman], San Diego State University; Bruce Fallown, Newschool of Architecture; and [David Sin], Woodbury University School of Architecture."
  5. Simon Ings Falling star 21 April 2001 New Scientist
  6. Joshua Glenn Architecture imitates art? April 25, 2007 Boston Globe
  7. Philip Jodidio Architecture now!
  8. Archived December 31, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  9. Archived January 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

Further reading