When Production Design Becomes an Interstellar Journey
Rory Cheyne, production designer for Foundation, asked the question "When will I design a motorcycle?", which sparked one of the most spectacular sequences in the third season: a flying motorcycle chase over a desert planet. 🏍️✨ This anecdote perfectly defines the spirit of a season that takes sci-fi design to new levels of visual ambition.
According to Cheyne, every element in Foundation must work on three levels: emotional, practical, and narrative. This multidisciplinary approach materializes in the stunning worlds we explore this season, where even the last screw on a ship tells a story.
Planets That Are Characters
The third season presents extreme worlds with unique visual personalities:
- Clarion: An O'Neill cylinder inspired by Polish architecture, where power is exercised between curved walls
- Haven: Bipolar planet with one hemisphere in flames and the other frozen, inhabited in the twilight strip
- Kalgan: The galactic Ibiza, a mix of Norwegian luxury and Mediterranean party
- Mykogen: Trantor's undergrounds turned into mushroom farms for the elite
The team filmed in real locations in Barcelona, Valencia, and Poland, fusing historical architecture with futuristic elements
Details That Build a Universe
The level of detail in the design reaches its zenith with elements like:
- Floating motorcycles with rotating cabins and spherical engines
- Suits with integrated lighting for Haven's icy side
- Space Winnebago-style ships with shag carpets and 1960s aesthetics
- Modular architectures inspired by Antarctic bases for Rossem
Every design choice responds to narrative needs: the flying motorcycles are not only spectacular but practical vehicles for desert terrains; the luminescent suits protect from extreme cold; and the lounge ships reflect their owners' personalities. 🚀
From Europe to the Galaxy: Earthly Inspiration
The team found inspiration in unexpected places:
- The Temple of Divine Providence in Warsaw for Clarion
- A market church in Krakow for Trantor's lower levels
- Czech hop fields for the agricultural planet Rossem
- Barcelona villas for luxury residences in Kalgan
This blend of earthly references with futuristic imagination creates a sense of alien familiarity - worlds that seem distant but connect with our visual experience.
Design as a Silent Narrator
The Foundation's evolution from colony to power is reflected in every setting: structures that were provisional are now institutions, but retain that characteristic fragility. Meanwhile, the Empire shows its decay through forgotten spaces and ruined gardens.
As Cheyne aptly says: "In Foundation, design is never decoration". Every curved wall, every suit texture, and every futuristic vehicle is telling part of the story. And if along the way they manage to make a flying motorcycle over a galactic desert take your breath away, all the better. 😉
After this season, it's clear that the true protagonist of Foundation could be its incredible production design, which transforms complex scientific concepts into visually spectacular and narratively relevant experiences.