Transcript of the Star Citizen Architectural Draft document

http://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/comments/1zl001/transcript_of_the_star_citizen_architectural/
The latest TFTC and its 10 minutes of beautiful world building inspired me to transcribe it from paused bits of the document CR was flipping through during the discussion for my own perusal. And now yours as well. Unfortunately the highly intriguing link to the Atlassian SC wiki with style guides for the alien races is not available without authentication.

Star Citizen Architectural Phases Draft 2

21st Century Predominant Style: Post-Modern Sustainable Architectural Peramculture Sub-Movement: None

From present day forward, the popular trend in architecture shifted toward green and 3D printed structures.

As the population of the planet continued to increase, more of an emphasis was placed on efficiency and sustainability in the design/construction of new buildings. Around the middle of the century, there were serious concerns about the threat of overpopulation. Every country had their own theories on how to combat the problem, which led to a rise of eugenics, water wars, and even some attempts at ethnic cleansing.

Organic food became scarce and synthetics became the only viable source of mass produced foodstuffs to handle the population. Even so, the megacities still were teeming with people. Even the richest and most powerful people on the planet couldn't hoard the most valuable resource of the late 21st century: space. And the not the cosmic kind.

This pressure was allayed slightly when RSI's Quantum Core Engine was unveiled in 2075. There mere possibility that space travel was closer to our grasp offered a ray of hope that maybe the prospect of planetary exploration was not far behind.

22nd Century Predominant Style: Ultra-Modern High-Tech Sub-Movements: Colonial Style (Late Century)

Crossing into the 22nd century, even though Earth was beyond capacity with its population, there was a focus now, a sense of purpose to push into the stars. The public's renewed fascination with the stars began to manifest in forward thinking (i.e. futuristic) designs. These buildings typically had a lot of glass/plexi, unique shapes, and visible supports, anything that could showcase human ingenuity and evoke a "the future is Now" feeling.

The push also helped lead to a series of breakthroughs, each served to ignite and invigorate Humanity more: development of terraforming technology in 2111, subsequent test, tragedy, and successful terraforming of Mars, and the first commercially available starship.

But Mars, that was the achievement that saved us. People flooded off Earth like a relief valve had been turned. The need for ultra-dense urban planning started to diminish so the regulations were relaxed. After time, the cast tower blocks simply weren't need anymore and most were demolished.

Because of the fascination with Mars, 'colonial style' became the fad in architecture. Houses were designed to resemble the more utilitarian/functionality based modular designs on Mars.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-tech_architecture

23rd Century Predominant Style: Ultra Modern Deconstructivism Sub-Movements: Chrysalistic Aesthetics (2230-2337), Retro-Primitive Movement (2272-2285)

The transition into the 23rd Century was much nicer than the 22nd. The population on Earth and Mars equalized a bit and people were able to settle nicely into their respective homes. Space was still at a premium, but Humanity was forgetting the coffin apartments of old, especially since more people were able to travel through actual space. Thanks to this, the taste shifted away from the modular and functional dictums of Colonial style and swayed back towards aesthetics and chaos.

Seem mostly in major cities around Earth, Deconstructivism attempted to defy the rigid, antiquated notions of form and structure. Visually, the movement experimented with distorted geometry, sweeping curves and molded metal.

The construction of the Artemis gave way to a fringe movement known as Chrysalistic Aesthetics. The movements's creator, Gaston Boone, was infatuated with the notion of colony ships and the metaphor for cocoons it represented. He began to design buildings with a confined biomechanical edge to them. The movement only lasted for a few years; even aesthetes can stand being crammed into their houses for so long before a commitment to aesthetics yields to basic comfort.

(RetroPrimitive Movement) was an architectural/lifestyle movement that longed for "Earthbound simplicity," eschewing metals and polymers for mud and synthetic wood. Some adopted its humble aspirations, but unfortuntely the movement gave birth to a violent activist group called ReBiRTH who actively promoted armed revolution and decried the expansion into Croshaw as "the first hit of the drug of imperialism."

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deconstructivism

24th Century Predominant Style: Ultra Modern internationalism / Globalism Sub-Movements: Asharianism (2336-Present)

Terraforming in Croshaw was underway when another system named Rhetor was discovered. When the public's eye was turned toward yet anotehr brand new star system to inhabit, aesthetic development of structure was experiencing a period of "writer's block" or what architectural journalist Peter Borne called "the Dark Age of the Eye." Buildings fell back into a very familiar form of International Modernism. Built for volume with clean lines and an almost sterile lack of ornamentation; to many, it felt like a retread of a forgotten age, the return of bland government buildings. Little did they know how right they would be: in 2380, in response to a flurry of new jump point discoveries, the government of Earth came together to form the United Nations of Earth. The public's attention was firmly captured by the thought of expansion, not architecture.

[...]

planets not for tomorrow, but with centuries, even millennia in mind. She stressed that only through strict calculation and assessment of planets, could they create harmonic environments, rather than the "always be building" approach used by Earth. Rejected by many due to its very rigid approach to geoplanning, Asharianism (as it came to be known) found a resurgence when it was cited as one of the guiding principles on Terra.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_style_architecture

25th Century Predominant Style: Colonial Style (reappearance), Banu Hybridism Sub-Movements: ExoGothic (2419-2496)

At this rate of Human Expansion, the demand for buildings outweighed everything but functionality. In that regard, there was system-wide resurgence of Colonial-style aesthetics, some even revisited the modular design systems from the initial Mars and Croshaw colonies.

The only system that did seem to heavily lean on aesthetic as a criteria was the planet Selene in Vega. A small collective of architects created a new movement called ExoGothic that seemed to fly in the face of the space-conscious or the modular. They build massively beautiful buildings intended to exalt Humanity's accomplishments of the past and present. Some found it to be a refreshing change, while others found it garish and wasteful.

Then Humanity got a shock. The discovery of the Banu Protectorate was like a lightning bolt through the systems. Many felt that with our expansion, it was only a matter of time, but no one was prepared for it to actually happen. Particularly with a species at roughly an equivalent technological level.

Once the treaty was signed and we began to learn more about the Banu, they became all the rage. Fueled by the fact that the Banu loved nothing more than off-loading a bunch of their building supplies and designs at a premium, elements of Banu architecture began to spring up in most of the major cities around the systems, specifically the wild color choices and mixed-material building type.

[...]

Reference: https://cloudimperiumgames.atlassian.net/wiki/display/SC/01|+Banu+_+Style+Guide <??) THIS LINK REQUIRES AUTHENTICAION :(

26th Century Predominant Style: Hennowism, MetaClassism Sub-Movement: Asharianism (Terra)

The Era of Rapid Expansion is in full swing, peaking with the discovery of the Terra system in 2516. Without the need to terraform the planet of Terra, the UNE can simply move right in. In a controversial move, the planetary commission decides to follow CJ Ashari's approach for its geoplanning of Terra. It's the first time that a planet is designed from the macro to the micro and with a set plan/schedule for future development.

Due to the awkward introduction to the Xi'An Empire in 2530, their culture doesn't have the immediate impact on Humanity that the Banu had. There is much to admire about the meticulous craft in which the Xi'An design their buildings, but the tensions were high enough that it as an intellectual appreciation, not one that's built on. There wasn't time to dwell on that though, Humanity was about to have bigger issues.

The discovery of the Tevarin quickly led to the open salvos of the Tevarin War. Between the Live War on one front and the Cold War on the other, most supplies were routed towards the military use. As such a new style called Hennowism arose with an emphasis on prefabrication coupled with the capacity for defensive or fortification became very popular in many of the new structures.

When Messer seized power in the middle of the century, he kept the bulk of resources dedicated to the military so the people were forced to build with repurposed or recycled materials. Meanwhile Messer wanted to create a unified look for his government. He tore down many of the buildings of old and replaced with with new buildings intended to embody the power of the Empire he had created, which became known as Metaclassicism.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoclassical_architecture

27th Century Predominant Style: Monumentalism/Exaltation

Sub-Movement:

The Second Tevarin War ushered in the 27th century and cemented the freshly-minted imperator Messer III's power base. Terrified of losing his power, Messer III conceived of a fiendishly brilliant way to 'rebrand' his empire: he put the people he was oppressing front and center. He specifically targeted any and all of the ExoGothic buildings to be destroyed and redesigned. If the People were going to be exalted, it was going to be through the careful lens of Messer III. Buildings throughout the Empire were built (or conformed) to inspire awe and raise the spirit; for example, every city had a Speaking Square to celebrate the ideas of the people (even though any controversial or critical voices were quickly dispatched) it was the ultimate architectural illusion, doing everything short of making the people complicit in their own subjugation.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_architecture http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_totalitaire http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_style https://www.google.com/#q=monumentalism+architecture (paraphrased) ;)

28th Century

Predominant Style: Meta-Baroque

Sub-Movement: Revolutionary Art

A petty and cruel despot, the young Messer XIII felt that the government's duty was to remind the populace that they were in charge, not exalt them (even if it was a lie). To that end, Messer XIII ordered a complete restructuring of government buildings. Classified later a Meta-Baroque, he wanted people to feel small and insignificant inside imperial buildings. He created a list of design specs that residential and commercial housing to adhere to. The specifications eschewed comfort for Spartan living. This created entire megacities of bland, standardized government sanctioned buildings.

Although, in retrospect, an undercurrent of revolution began to surge as the century progressed, becoming particularly noticeable after the execution of Anthony Tanaka in 2757. This drab landscape provided the perfect canvas, as a simple splash of color could shine as a revolutionary act. That helped lay the groundwork for Senator Akari of Terra's daring peace accord with the Xi'An.

Finally, in 2792, after months of prolonged conflict, the people of the UEE rose up and deposed Messer XIX.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalinist_architecture

29th Century

Predominant Style: UltraDeco, Organic Architecture

Sub-Movement: Xi'An Fusion

The downfall of the Messer Era breathed new life into people, sparking a Cultural Renaissnace as people explored all the things that had previously been denied to them. Architecturally, buildings embraced beauty and technology again, a post-mortem defiance of the bland specifications which had oppressed them before. There were two movements that captured this public need: UltraDeco and Organic Architecture.

The UltraDeco spoke to the vibrant future that Humanity wanted to focus in order to avoid reflecting on the past, while the Organic Architecture was an attempt to push the envelope on what could be done.

On Terra, they were even experimenting with incorporating Xi'An designs into their buildings, resulting in some of the massive skyscrapers that have been key players in the iconic skyline of Prime.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_deco http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_revival_architecture https://cloudimperiumgames.atlassian.net [...] Xi'An Style Guide REQUIRES AUTHENTICATION :(

30th Century Predominant Style: MetaBauhaus (Super Modernism) Sub-Movement: Biomimicry

With construction of the Synthworld underway, the Empire's finances stop going into the construction of new buildings. In the private sector, however, there is a massive shift towards a modernist aesthetic for buildings. Many feel that it captures the best qualities of Human design without being ostentatious about it.

In the mid 2930's, a collective of budding architects calling themselves K8 began creating some truly exciting structures utilizing Biomimicry, believing that the buildings we inhabit should take their design cues from patterns and structures in nature. Several of their buildings exist in New Corvo, Artemis, Vega. There is still debate among the architectural community as to the cost-effectiveness of these types of structures, but the public seems to be enamored with them.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_architecture http://www.biomimetic-architecture.com/what-is-biomimicry/