CONSTRUCTION

BEHIND-THE-SCENES DEVELOPMENT OF ENVIRONMENTS, SYSTEMS, IMAGES, AND MOTION

A digital rendering of a desolate, rocky landscape with a large hill or mountain. On top of the hill are two tall, rectangular, monolithic structures. The image has a dark, moody atmosphere with a cloudy sky. Overlaying are wireframe grid lines and technical annotations indicating it is a work in progress for a virtual environment.

SITE

BUILDING THE PHYSICAL WORLD.

Aerial view of a vast desert landscape with multiple small volcanic mountains, winding dry riverbeds, and salt flats under a cloudy sky.
A barren desert landscape with dry, cracked soil and small mounds of dirt. Several small, shallow lakes with reflecting water are scattered across the scene. The sky is cloudy and overcast.

Landform, elevation, erosion, surface behaviour and geological character establish the physical foundation of the site.

01 / TERRAIN

A vast landscape of drying salt flats with cracked ground, patches of salt, and numerous small lakes and ponds under a cloudy sky.

Rock, sediment, mineral deposits, water, vegetation and atmospheric conditions determine how the environment begins to feel physically believable.

02 / MATERIAL

Aerial view of the Badlands in South Dakota with rugged hills, winding dirt roads, and sparse vegetation under a cloudy sky.

Distance, horizon, atmospheric depth and familiar points of reference establish proportion before constructed elements are introduced.

03 / SCALE

STRUCTURE

A dark, volcanic landscape with cracked, black soil, small rocks, and several small water pools reflecting the cloudy sky. In the background, there are volcanic plateaus and distant snow-capped mountains under a cloudy sky.

01/GEOLOGICAL PLACEMENT

Structure begins with the site.

Constructed forms are positioned in response to terrain, geology, elevation and existing environmental conditions. Placement is treated as part of the landscape rather than an object added afterwards.

A desolate landscape with cracked, dry ground near a calm body of water under a cloudy sky, featuring two vertical concrete slabs on the left.

02/NATURAL / CONSTRUCTED

The boundary is deliberately unclear.

Material, weathering, orientation and scale allow artificial structures to inherit characteristics from their surroundings. The aim is for construction to feel discovered rather than introduced.

Aerial view of a rugged coastal landscape with cliffs, rocks, and choppy ocean waters under cloudy skies. 
Repetition establishes relationships across distance.

REPETITION / SCALE

Repeated forms do not need to occupy the entire landscape. Strategic placement allows isolated structures to imply larger networks, alignments and systems extending beyond what can be immediately seen.

ITERATION

THE INFORMATION IS DISCOVERED THROUGH REVISION

An artistic collage of a volcanic landscape with black sand, small lakes, and distant plateaus, transitioning from a color scene to a monochrome winter scene with snow and bare trees.

0/1 TERRAIN DEVELOPMENT

The landscape comes before the anomaly.

Initial studies establish geology, atmosphere, scale and surface behaviour before constructed elements are introduced. Multiple versions are tested until the environment can exist convincingly without relying on the fictional intervention.

A digitally manipulated landscape image with distorted elements, featuring a mountain range, volcanic terrain, cracked earth, and coastal cliffs, with vertical white lines and an additional interface element.

02 / FORM INTEGRATION

An object must inherit the logic of its surroundings.

Scale, material, placement, and visibility are adjusted repeatedly as constructed forms enter the environment. The process continues until the intervention feels physically connected to the site rather than composited onto it.

A vast landscape of salt flats under a cloudy sky, with some distant water and mountains on the horizon.

Iteration stops when the world no longer needs explanation.

The final image is not necessarily the most elaborate version. Elements are reduced, repositioned or removed until scale, atmosphere and environmental logic feel coherent. The resolved environment should appear observed rather than designed.

03 / RESOLUTION

COMPOSITE

SEPERATE ELEMENTS BECOME A SINGLE IMAGE

Environments, structures, objects, figures and atmospheric elements may begin as independent studies. They are combined through scale, perspective, light, material and depth until the boundaries between components disappear.

01 / ASSEMBLY

Independent elements are brought into a common spatial system.

Coastal landscape with rocky cliffs, a beach, and ocean waters, featuring several large, white, vertical artistic structures emerging from the sea and land, under an overcast sky.

02 / RESOLVED COMPOSITE

Scale, light, atmosphere and material unify the image.

A rugged, rocky coastline extends into the ocean on a cloudy day, with several small islands visible in the distance and a sailboat mast in the water.

ENVIRONMENTAL MOTION

A fixed viewpoint allows environmental motion to carry the scene. Water, atmosphere and weather move around static constructed elements, reinforcing their physical presence within the landscape.

DN-0012

THE FINAL IMAGE SHOULD NOT EXPOSE ITS METHOD

Construction ends when the environment no longer appears constructed.
Terrain, atmosphere, objects, scale, motion, and anomaly resolve into a single believable observation.

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