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Star Wars Architecture

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The Planet Coruscant

Vienna, Austria

Cathedral spires of Vienna, Austria

©Jackie Craven
At first glance, the densely populated planet, Coruscant, appears wildly futuristic. Coruscant is an unending, multileveled megalopolis where skyscrapers extend to the lower fringes of the atmosphere. But this is no Mies van de Rohe version of modernism. Lucas wanted the city to combine sleek lines of Art Deco or Art Moderne architecture with older styles and more pyramidal shapes.

Look closely at the towering Jedi Temple. The art department experimented with various designs, striving for textures and shapes which would suggest the religious nature of this great structure. The result: A many-pointed spire, with the familiar arches of gothic windows. Jedi's Temple appears to be a distant cousin of a European cathedral... perhaps this one in Vienna, Austria.

"I've found that you should avoid making things up without anchoring them to a strong foundation based in world history," chief artist Doug Chiang told reporters after the release of Star Wars Episode I.

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