In the previous post we looked at Medieval fashion reminding readers that there are echoes of garments from those times also in contemporary designs. If you think about it, you will realise that even sci-fi stories borrow elements from the Middle Ages, think for example about armors.
The latest sci-fi series in which we have seen an armor as a key narrative element is Disney's "The Mandalorian", created by Jon Favreau.
In the first live-action series in the Star Wars franchise, Mando's full-body armor with its distinctive helmet - pieces entirely made in the almost indestructible Mandalorian iron called beskar - is a sort of co-protagonist. The armor is indeed a way of life for Mandalorians, something that provides protection and a visual identity, regardless of species or gender.
Yet, rather than links between the future and the Middle Ages, when we watch sci-fi films like the ones from the Star Wars saga, most of us are maybe more intrigued by the settings and the architectures.
There are plenty of intriguing shots in The Mandalorian and Oppenheim Architecture, an award-winning architecture, planning, and interior design firm specialising in hospitality, tried to create comparisons between some of their designs and the buildings, locations and architectural moods seen on the Season 2 of this series, while Mando and The Child, or better Grogu, continue the journey that started in the first season.
For example, in the first episode of the second series, The Mandalorian returns to Tatooine, a beloved planet for Star Wars fans.
This sandy planet, with its buildings emerging from the dunes and blending in with their surroundings, is echoed in Oppenheim Architecture's Ayla Golf Academy and Clubhouse.
The structure, located in Aqaba, Jordan, is inspired by the natural dunescapes and magnificent mountains of the Jordanian desert as well as the architectural heritage of the ancient Bedouin.
The structure consists in a massive shotcrete shell curving and creating organic unadorned and minimalist shapes in earthy colours that evoke the tones and nuances of the surrounding mountains.
The third episode takes mainly place on board of Mando's ship, with a brief interlude on an icy planet where his passenger, the frog lady, has a bath in a natural spring to keep her eggs warm.
The space-age design of the vessels seen in this episode, but also the water element can be linked with Oppenheim Architecture's futuristic concept proposal for a spa and resort in the Barooq Peninsula of Qatar, combining natural and high tech materials.
In the fifth episode Mando tries to reunite the child with a Jedi master reaching the forests of Calodan where he meets Ahsoka Tano.
In this episode the forests are juxtaposed to the luxury house, built in a futuristic Oriental style, where the evil magistrate who oppresses the people in the local village, lives.
Oppenheim Architecture linked the forest surrounding the city, accessed through a solid and severe walled gate, to the Muttenz Water Treatment Plant, located in Switzerland, the city's new municipal water purification plant.
The plant is designed to blend into its natural habitat without disrupting the landscape and it is inspired by the principles of sustainability. Coated in natural stone and clay, the plant calls to mind a rock configuration touched by water, even though the inspiration for this design was actually a futuristic space base.
In the sixth episode, Mando takes the child to the Jedi Temple on Tython to try and connect Grogu to other Jedis. The Temple features towering rock formations that surround a sunny stone at its center.
This desert tower is reminiscent of a proposed series of lodges in Wadi Rum, Jordan. Inspired by primordial moods and the tectonic and geological histories of the region, this project combines natural beauty with a luxury vision, with lodges carved directly into the sandstone cliff face, blurring in this way the line between the interior and the exterior.
Building elements in this project are made with rammed earth and cement mixed with local red sand. Harmony is created by taking full advantage of the natural cooling effect of the rocks, and the proper positioning allows the project to minimize energy consumption.
The season's penultimate episode takes Mando and the rest of his team to the jungles of the Morak forest where they must penetrate an Imperial base.
Oppenheim Architecture's aptly named House in a Jungle in Caracas, Venezuela, displays a similar setting to the one in which the characters move at the beginning of the episode to prepare their attack.
The solid concrete building clad in local stone characterised by a natural palette, with its wood floors and large windows opens onto a large and calm courtyard with lush and verdant gardens with palm trees and other tropical plants calling to mind the jungle.
There are obviously further intriguing buildings and structures featured in this series and, if you like the comparisons, you can discover more links between films and architectures in the volume "Lair: Radical Homes and Hideouts of Movie Villains" (2019), written by Oppenheim Architecture's founder and Principal Chad Oppenheim. The book also features a chapter on the architecture of the Death Star, so it's a must-have for Star Wars fans.
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