Star Wars Architecture

By Jackie Craven, About.com Guide

If you've ever traveled through the American Southwest or the African plains, you know the desert planet of Tatooine. Lacking in natural resources, settlers in George Lucas's fictional planet built their villages piece by piece over many years. Curved, earthen structures resemble adobe pueblos and African earth dwellings. In fact, much of what we see in Tatooine was filmed in Tunisia, on the northern shore of Africa.

The Lars family homestead (see photos) from Star Wars Episode IV was filmed in the Hotel Sidi Driss in the mountain town of Matmata, Tunisia.

Many scenes from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace were filmed at Ksar Ouled Soltane, a fortified granary near Tataouine in Tunisia.

The multi-layered slave quarters in Star Wars Episode I were filmed at the Hotel Ksar Hadada, a few miles northwest of Tataouine. Anakin Skywalker's childhood home is a humble dwelling within this slave complex. Like the Lars family homestead, it combines primitive construction with high technology. The bedroom and kitchen are cave-like spaces with ragged windows and storage nooks.

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• Is Star Wars Architecture Alien?
• Architecture on the Planet Coruscant
• Architecture on the Planet Naboo
• Architecture on the Planet Tatooine

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