Idea behind the city: Inspired by Bioshock Infinite, it follows along the lines of segregation and discrimination which was and can still be visible in Belfast today. We had a city that on the surface, looks ideal with the perfected vision of how civilisation should present itself, but as we delve into its implicit meanings, all isn’t what it seems. For example, the large eye in the centre of the dome is a method of surveillance on the city for the corrupted government. Residents must live and act a certain way in accordance to a set of rules the government has set as to not be imprisoned in the other, less pleasant, half of the city below. With a more dystonia approach on the Titanic quarter, we had the idea of making it resemble a prison for those who were banished from the idealistic top half, for committing crimes or opposing the government. Fitting in along the lines of discrimination, civilians who do not follow the status quo are also segregated and isolated from the upper society, for example if you look and act in a way that is not uniform to the government. (Credit to Nuala for typing the idea out) Statistics used from Research: Statistics provided from http://www.nisra.gov.uk/, http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/ and https://www.psni.police.uk/ How research was implemented in the design and statistics of our city: Using our research we made up our own statistics (similar to the real ones) and implemented them into the design. Final Presentation: Our final presentation can be seen here- Floating City Presentation and the layout can been seen below (This is based off a structure Nuala created, the part I'm speaking over is highlighted) Final Model: We decided to name our city Belsfaíra. The final rendered versions can be seen below. Thoughts on Final city and feedback:
Overall I am very pleased with the outcome of our city! Feedback from the class was that they really liked how it looked, particularly the colours we used and the kind of vibe we went for- this reaction was exactly what we hoped for which was good! As the engines where a bit of a last minute decisions I feel I could have done a better job on them and would have animated them to look like the were on and generating power. I think our group would agree that if given more time on the project we could have modelled more buildings as there where lots of ones we saw about Belfast that we would of liked to use. I really enjoyed working on this project and think the group did a fantastic job with the final outcome, I learnt really useful things on Maya and I feel I'm starting to get the hang of using lights and rendering... so I can only improve from here!
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We've modified the design slightly. Basically all we did was change the bottom part, rather than tentacle things we've decided to put 4 engines around the outside of the orb. I ended up modelling basic engines that look like the are lit up on the bottom. I also finished the Beacon of Hope statue and animated the eye to look down and side to side at the city. Small parts I also added where basic trees and buildings just to fill up some space and make the city look fuller. Based off some of the models I've looked at how the statistics have been incorporated into the designs or why we chose to model certain buildings or structures because of the statistics. For example the engine design should include statistics based on energy consumption- a lot of the electricity generated in Belfast is through renewable resources, so I was thinking on the bottom of the engine there is an orb that can absorb energy around it in the sky, maybe heat, wind or the coolness in the air. Again with the Beacon of Hope model it's to do with the law and how the city is monitored. The eye is always watching, like it's supposed to keep everyone and the community safe. Beacon of Hope notes The H&W cranes are much like the engine. They can represent the industry in Belfast and the manufacture and construction that goes on. For example there's a lot of building going on constantly and different services going on like transport or things for tourists. Things like the Beacon of Hope and the H&W cranes are also the type of structures or architecture that stand out in the city. H&W crane was modelled by Charlotte Above are the basic buildings and trees I made, we don't want them to be very detailed or eye catching as the main attention should be on every else.. these are space fillers.
I came up with a design based off the rest of the groups concepts, I tried including aspects from everyone's work. The idea is the have the city placed inside of a glass sphere. The top half of the city is the more vibrant area with a higher population, the underside is dark and corrupted- for the building underneath Charlotte had the idea of using the shape of the Titanic Quarter but in our city it's used as a prison block. In the centre is a dome based of the Victoria Square dome and on top is a similar statue to the Beacon of Hope which is holding up an eye which monitors the city. The pipe like pieces coming from the bottom are used to suck up nutrients or important materials from the abandoned Earth below. We where also thinking that maybe the gravity isn't exactly right inside the dome so pieces of land or structures are stuck floating inside as well. Above is my design Also doodled some ideas down on the bus, just playing around with the colour scheme and how the buildings would look inside the sphere. I though of maybe having it all laid out in rows leading to the centre but I don't really like how it looks.. It would probably look much nicer just as a cluster of buildings, basically like a real city. This is only for the top half though, I still want to test out some ideas for the bottom half! Maybe using the colours Viola used in her concept. Bus doodles Based off this general idea we've spilt up the modelling tasks, and we may modify the design a bit as we go along. First I'm going to model the Beacon of Hope statue but changing it's design slightly. I was thinking of having the statue blind folded with cloth wrapped around were it's eyes would be, and then above it is the eye looking over the city. Either I'm going to make the eye robotic or something like The Eye of Sauron from LOTR - I'm also going to attempted to animated it looking around at the city below. Below are rough concepts I drew out and some work in progress shots of the model so far. I'm not sure whether i'll add more wires to the chest area because it was starting to look too messy.
Below are the designs I came up with. 'Victoria' and 'United Division'
Mechanical eyes that control the weather and environment for city Rough Illusion concept
I started doodling done some random ideas I had, most of them being based of a dome structure (like Victoria Square) or glass buildings- I was kind of going for a futuristic look or something to do with a hive. The city could be clustered inside of a giant structure which acts as a protective shield. Other ideas I had were a microscopic city, a city growing on bacteria and this could be linked with what the health care is like in Belfast and how healthy people are in general. I also had an idea for the city to be floating in the air only it's shaped like some sort of 'religious' spire or symbol, the city itself would be placed in the middle with all the communities living among each other in peace. Keeping with the whole glass structure concepts I was coming up with, I had the idea of two cube structures- the design is based off the Lanyon Plaza. One either side are two different religions which live separately to each other, the cubes are only connected by a bridge. This could be a way of representing the division of beliefs in Belfast put the bridge is supposed to represent peace between the two.. even though there actually isn't any. It's basically the complete opposite of the spire idea. I go past the Lanyon Plaza everyday on my way to uni and have always liked its design and shape so I might develop this idea a bit more into something that the group could possibly use. The final random ideas I had where to do with the city be stuck in some sort of air pocket, so the pressure of the air causes the city to take a certain shape or the gravity is messed up so the city is upside down (depending on what way you look at it). Based off the upside down drawing I drew an idea where the city is on top and underneath are trees rooted to the ground. The forest side could provide resources to the city while the city provides water and nutrients to the forest.
Real Life Projects/ Concepts http://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/755878/Floating-city-China-Yueyang-Fata-Morgana More examples here: http://inhabitat.com/7-futuristic-floating-cities-that-could-save-humanity/ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3192446/Would-live-floating-city-Fascinating-3-000ft-vessel-Meriens-shaped-like-giant-manta-ray-home-7-000-people-without-producing-waste.html Film/Animation Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986) WALL.E (2008) Aincrad from Sword Art Online Star Wars Cloud City Stargate city of Atlantis Games BioShock Infinite Gravity Rush Final Fantasy 13 cocoon Monument Valley game Artist Concepts http://darkhikarii.deviantart.com/ http://tryingtofly.deviantart.com/ http://rynkadraws.deviantart.com/ http://laurensspruit.deviantart.com/
Georgian
Victorian
Edwardian and 20th century
21st century
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Yearly Sun graph (Source) Rainfall and Temperature (Source) References:
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Belfast (/ˈbɛl.fɑːst/ or /ˈbɛl.fæst/; from Irish: Béal Feirste, meaning "rivermouth of the sandbanks") is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. Belfast became a substantial settlement in the 17th century after being established as a town by Sir Arthur Chichester, which was initially settled by Protestant English and Scottish migrants at the time of the Plantation of Ulster. Belfast was a centre of the Irish linen, tobacco processing, rope-making and shipbuilding industries: in the early 20th century, Harland and Wolff, which built the RMS Titanic, was the world's biggest and most productive shipyard. Belfast played a key role in the Industrial Revolution, and was a global industrial centre until the latter half of the 20th century. It has sustained a major aerospace and missiles industry since the mid 1930s. Industrialisation and the inward migration it brought made Belfast Ireland's biggest city at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, Belfast remains a centre for industry, as well as the arts, higher education, business, and law, and is the economic engine of Northern Ireland. The city suffered greatly during the Troubles, but latterly has undergone a sustained period of calm, free from the intense political violence of former years, and substantial economic and commercial growth. Coat of arms with motto "Pro Tanto Quid Retribuamus" (Latin: "what shall we give in return for so much") The city of Belfast has the Latin motto "Pro tanto quid retribuamus." This is taken from Psalm 116 Verse 12 in the Latin Vulgate Bible and is literally "For so much what shall we repay " The verse has been translated in bibles differently – for example as "What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?". It is also translated as "In return for so much, what shall we give back?" Aerial view of Belfast.
Brief History The history of Belfast as a settlement goes back to the Iron Age, but its status as a major urban centre dates to the 18th century. Belfast today is the capital of Northern Ireland. Belfast was throughout its modern history a major commercial and industrial centre, but the late 20th century saw a decline in its traditional industries, particularly shipbuilding. The city's history has been marked by violent conflict between Irish Catholics and Irish Protestants which has caused many working class areas of the city to be split into Catholic and Protestant areas. In recent years the city has been relatively peaceful and major redevelopment has occurred, especially in the inner city and dock areas. Culture
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