Final Model

I was really unhappy with the structure of the Cousteau's (outside) lab, as I felt it was too complicated, with too many stairs and levels, so I changed it. I raised the lab to be the connecting level itself instead of having a little platform. I went back to the original drawing's shape for inspiration. I developed the meeting place, wanting to create a higher, central structure. I wanted a dramatic, solid shape, but not just a simple box.

The layout for the meeting place has also been altered so now it incorporates a downstairs, open area, and an upstairs room. The stairs and ramps leading to the upstairs has glass railing so it doesn't appear too obvious from afar, giving the structure the appearance of floating in mid-air.

The blue lighting looks magical and eerie, and is also evocative of the sea, reminding us that "once it casts its spell, holds one in its net forever."
Above: The cosier meeting room. The idea of the cracks extending right into the room was an interesting way of letting in light, also heightened in effect by the dark ceiling which would provide contrast.

Above: Nobel's ramp remains the same, albeit with added texture.
Nobel's work always implies a sense of danger for me, so i created a ramp that is very open, suspended on both sides, with a just a rail on the inside edge, leaving it exposed.
NB!: for some reason, the rail does not render properly in the perspective view, or in the game. It shows a chunk missing out of the middle, even though in all my views it looks fine, I've tried to recreate it many times, but could not find a solution. Please note that this was not an intentional part of the design.

Above: Cousteau's ramp is more sheltered and enclosed, giving it a sense of security, evoking ideas of "net", "home", and "hold". The ramp itself passes through a tiny antichamber, which is constructed through the giant aquarium which fronts an entire side of the building. A person would walk up the the ramp, then throught the doorway, and through a short hall where the walls, ceiling and floor is glass, looking through to the water and marine creatures. This is to evoke ideas of the "sea" being "everywhere".

Above: Nobel's study. Again, I wanted to break away from the sterilty of the labs, and create something cosier to evoke a sense of "home": I chose dark wood for both the floor and ceiling to give it a little luxury, and used one of my own textures to line the walls, giving the room a richer, warmer feel. (Medium) The glass wall sticking out of the 'cliff' shows off the view, and looks over to the meeting place and Cousteau's lab.

Above: Cousteau's private movie theatre for viewing documentaries. Again, I applied dark wood to the floor and ceiling, and a custom texture to the walls. (Dark) The back wall looks into the aquarium as well. With these private, "relaxing" areas, I really wanted to make something more comfortable and homey. Using similar textures also gives the overall design coherence.


Above: A custom texture has been applied to the balcony area as a feature wall. (Light)
I used a forth custom texture (dark) as fabric for the couches.

Above: This view shows the layout of Nobel's lab. I gave red lighting to his little room downstairs, used for particularly dangerous experiments, to further evoke the sense of danger, mystery and "spell". The interior of the labs, i chose to make very bare and sparse. There would be enough going on!!

Above: Finally, an overhead shot of the structure. I wanted to create a really arresting form.