Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1542693
The Baxter Apartment The Baxter apartment was a small bull's-eye to hit. The Art Department had to design a penthouse apartment that captured the dynamism and spirit of the world that Reed had created and yet felt warm and inviting enough to be believable as a place a family could live. We wanted the apartment to inspire awe, and feel undoubtedly part of its retro-futuristic world, and yet not be ostentatious. We needed to create an inspiring, sort of nest in the clouds where daily life could unfold and the Four could connect and recharge from their many responsibilities, and most importantly, a place where they could raise a child. Rather than looking at penthouse architecture, we turned to warm mid-century residential architecture: California post-and-beam houses, modernist cabins with natural materials and organic forms. In our design, curved wooden paneling hugs the walls, while flagstone floors ground the space and lush plantings soften the transitions. The defining decision was the creation of a "cabin inside a penthouse": a domed wooden structure built inside the apartment itself. Within the dome sits a large carpeted conversation pit, a fireplace and a hanging mobile whose embedded lights glow like stars in the evening. This inner dome creates intimacy within the grand envelope of the building, allowing Reed and Sue's family life to feel emotional and intimate despite being in a skyscraper penthouse. Critically, set decorator Jille Azis and her team layered the space with rich, lived-in detail— gorgeous period furniture, a record listening station, a playpen, a baby blanket, toys, magazines, books and mugs left out from late nights. The architecture declares the future; the set dressing declares the family. Reed's Lab Above the apartment lies Reed's lab: a figurative manifestation of Reed's mind and thought process. With its voluminous size, vaulted ceilings and geometries of saturated color, the lab was envisioned as a sort of cathedral of science. Representing Reed's hyper-rational mind, the lab was divided into three distinct chromatic zones—red for research and prototyping, yellow for contemplation and discussion, and blue for mission control. Dieter Rams, Luigi Colani, Eero Saarinen and 2001: A Space Odyssey were strong inspirations both for the palette, as well as the monolithic nature of the fiberglass workstations. A. BAXTER APARTMENT. CONCEPT ILLUSTRATION BY JOSHUA VIERS, CREATED IN OCTANE AND PHOTOSHOP. MADE FROM A RHINO MODEL BY PATRICK DUNN-BAKER. B. BAXTER APARTMENT. SET PHOTO BY JASON DUNNE. C. BAXTER APARTMENT. FINISHED FILM STILL. D. REED'S LAB. PRELIMINARY SKETCH BY KASRA FARAHANI. E. REED'S LAB. CONCEPT ILLUSTRATION BY JOSHUA VIERS, CREATED IN OCTANE AND PHOTOSHOP. MADE FROM A RHINO MODEL BY PATRICK DUNN-BAKER. A B C D E