City Fortresses
The people of Talitha Habor live in three Great Cities. Each city is on a separate small island. The first thing planned, when a new city must be built, is the fortress. It’s a city center and a gathering place. Each city has its own uniquely designed fortress, largely for practicality. But, they also become a symbol of their separate cultures.
The frame is built of narrow, but dense, tree trunks. Its exterior walls are constructed of large bricks, made from a mixture of both red and dark gray clay. The floors are a tapestry of mixed quartzite, good for heat distribution. The building has multiple rooms, and its top floor has some barracks style housing, like the top floor of Anunitum’s fortress. It is smaller in comparison, but also warmer and cozier. Compared to the rest of the buildings in Simmah, the fortress is still large and stands out. Unlike Anunitum, it’s also in the center of the city.
Pangu’s fortress is three stories tall, a massive circle with an open-air courtyard in the middle. There is a single story circular building at the center, which is a meeting hall for community events. It’s also open-air. A gazebo type with an airy roof that shades the sun. Pangu is known for being the most colorful city, and their fortress reflects this. The sides of it have been tinted with a variety of pigments. Giving it a rainbow pastel look. Because of the size, they keep the wash low on pigment, so it just adds a touch of color verse anything bright.
Great City of Anunitum
The first city. Its fortress is the center section of the original colony ship. The engineers on Earth had designed the ship to break apart and turn into a small starter city. It’s a tall, pointed dome like structure with massive front doors and a large spire on each side. It rises three stories and has a basement of sorts. A natural tunnel system that lays in the bottom of an extinct volcano. The Talithans used the last of the ship’s fuel to land it partially in a hollowed-out side of the volcano.Great City of Simmah
The second city. Anunitum’s Fortress is a building from their past, originally built on Earth. Simmah's Fortress would represent who they were when it was built. They also had to use building materials found in Simmah. Only two stories. The exterior looks like a massive medieval great hall with a gabled roof.The frame is built of narrow, but dense, tree trunks. Its exterior walls are constructed of large bricks, made from a mixture of both red and dark gray clay. The floors are a tapestry of mixed quartzite, good for heat distribution. The building has multiple rooms, and its top floor has some barracks style housing, like the top floor of Anunitum’s fortress. It is smaller in comparison, but also warmer and cozier. Compared to the rest of the buildings in Simmah, the fortress is still large and stands out. Unlike Anunitum, it’s also in the center of the city.
City of Pangu
Pangu was, as its name indicates, designed after Chinese architecture from long ago. Their fortress is designed after the Tulou community homes that were built in southern China by the Hakka people. It is a massive building, built of the paler pressed clay found in Pangu and the long reeds that grow native there. It’s a more tropical area and everything was built intending to stave off heat. Their fortress is no different.Pangu’s fortress is three stories tall, a massive circle with an open-air courtyard in the middle. There is a single story circular building at the center, which is a meeting hall for community events. It’s also open-air. A gazebo type with an airy roof that shades the sun. Pangu is known for being the most colorful city, and their fortress reflects this. The sides of it have been tinted with a variety of pigments. Giving it a rainbow pastel look. Because of the size, they keep the wash low on pigment, so it just adds a touch of color verse anything bright.
**Pictures coming soon-ish
Type
Government complex
Hello DesdemonaRose. I liked that you incorporated some old Earth stuff into your cities. I imagine this is some sort of future setting that you are building. However, I think I see some inconsistencies. In the intro paragraph, you say that the fortress is planned/built first when building a new city, and that the fortress is the center of the city. Then, it seems that Anunitum is a deliberately downed ship and, according to the description of Simmah, not the center of that city. Also, this all raises the question of where folks live while these fortresses/cities are being planned and built. Are there temporary cities where the designers/builders/populace live while these cities are coming into being?
I'll have to edit the first section after the challenge. I was doing a little bit of a stream of consciousness with some of them. I had Anunitum and Pangu planned to some degree, but not Simmah. I probably need to put more about their culture/world in the article as well. I'll have to put that they plan the fortress first, then the rest.. and the fortress is built early. They do put up a temporary encampment for the early builders. But, I have a fourth city being built in a rough draft, and I did give them a couple of gutted buildings to use for things like medical, until they get the actual hospital, and a grocery/cafeteria. Granted, that city has a bunch of drama around their fortress, holding it off, but given the sheer size of the fortress, it's not really that practical it's permanent building number one. Thanks for the input! It's definitely been very helpful.