Building Design for Feature Film │ Restore Point
Restore Point is an upcoming one-of-a-kind Czech sci-fi feature film directed by Robert Hloz and produced by Film Kolektiv s.r.o. With the director’s permission I can share the creation process behind one of the most important elements of the film—the building of the Institute of Restoration.
THE CHALLENGE
Design the built-up, futuristic half of the structure and figure out a way to intertwine it with the original historical building used as a base in a complementary, cohesive way.
OUTCOME
Concept illustration—presenting an iconic design that draws information solely from the story, function, theme and desired emotional impact provided by the director in order to enhance the final cinematic experience. A design that is part of the world and won’t distract the audience from the narrative.
The story: it’s a large state building in near-future Prague, a metropolis dealing with overpopulation issues, making it necessary to build on top of existing buildings.
The brief: the Institute of Restoration serves as an insurance—its function is to restore people that have recently died due to unnatural cause and bring them back to life.
The most valuable part of the process. As a first step I like to brainstorm using a mind map, listing all of the elements that make up the thing I’m designing.
I tried to find as many symbols as I could, things that could represent all director's abstract ideas of for eg. emotions & symbolism that should the design evoke, by making more mind maps and searching for the appropriate references.
Next, I do research regarding the function of the building. For instance, if it is a hospital—what elements define it? What kinds of things does a hospital need to have?
The design decisions will not be random or just chosen because they look “cool”.
The original old building used as the base is called the Municipal House and is located directly in Prague—the city where I live, so in this case, I could take my own references.
Next, I studied architectural references. The challenge were to, first, figure out how to intertwine the two parts and, second, choose the right architecture style for
the superstructure.
The first idea sketches aren’t supposed to look pretty and most of the time I wouldn’t show these to the director—they’re more about thinking and connecting all of the thoughts in my mind, the things I’ve already researched.
The large, curvy infinity symbol (referencing immortality—it also has a bit of a butterfly shape, symbolising rebirth) as the main focus of the building, with two supporting Brutalist statues, which represent mankind finally conquering death.
The alternative version—even through we didn’t use it, a part of its design came in handy later.
After settling on the one design we were the most happy with, I started making the street view visualisations of the building—using a similar POV in which it will be seen in the final film.
Working closely with the director, we tweaked the design even further. We figured out that from this view, the superstructure resembled an anvil too much and it was also thinner than the old part.
I proposed to use the base of the previous unused version—the bottom of which mimics the shape of the old building’s roof—in reverse, and that way it can sit directly on top.
I also came up with the idea of the infinity symbol serving as a placeholder for various insurance advertisements which we really liked, but in the end decided that it would distract from the main focus of the building—the horizontal 8 reflecting the sky.
The final version. Results—a happy satisfied director, his worries eased by one major problem, with a ready concept for further presentation to the architects, fundraisers and whenever the production starts.