Construction

Concepts & Construction

When we began construction of the Space Place, we never envisioned that we would be sharing this unique project with thousands over the internet! Had we know this was going to occur, we would have taken more photos and notes.

Here's a small collection of conceptual sketches and photos from the construction of the space place. Keep in mind that we are just Disney Imagineer - wanna-be's! This is NOT our primary employment. ( However, if you're with Disney, please consider this our resume!! )

Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo.
The Main Deck
1	1) We wanted break the 'sight lines' of our "standard" 10 x 13 room. We decided that by raising the main deck up 24", we would have a good start. From there, the ideas flowed nicely. Be sure to notice the "door" in the back left of this photo. When all is said and done, this is the OFF-stage access door to the fiber optic stars and main deck control panels. On the right side, you'll see the early framework of the sleeping pods. (The colorful 'tools' on the steps belong to my children, who often helped their father in the construction.)

2	2) We were pleased how the curves of the main deck arches, gave a nice diversion from the typical straight lined architecture. We designed the arches have their own light source. These are accessed by carefully sliding the front 'panels' up on tracks built into each arch. It's our intent to continue the arches down to the main deck. It has not happened yet... perhaps in phase 2! On the back, center of the deck sits a "mystery piece" that was built, but never incorporated into the room.

3	3) With all the walls covered, the sleeping pods finished and the ceiling in place, we're ready to install the control panels and tend to the finishing details. You'll notice, we still have the "mystery piece" sitting there, waiting for a final decision.

The Sleeping Pods

The Space Place Sleeping Pods were the greatest anticipation of my children. The idea of sleeping in their toy room was often the topic of conversation with friends and family.

To this day, I don't believe they have spent an entire evening in The Space Place Pods.

The Pods were built so well, that they can support a full grown adult. (Why any adult would climb in one has yet to be determined.) The areas, both above and below the pods, are open and designed for storage.

The center light 'panel' between the pods fell together nicely. The nine panels are illuminated by one 48" fluorescent tube. Originally, this panel was going to use the same LCARS control panel theme seen in the main deck. However, with the Christmas Eve deadline quickly approaching, and 9 LCARS panels that needed to be designed and printed, we took a unique shortcut. In place of the LCARS film, we sandwiched white tissue paper between the twp pieces of Plexiglas, then wrapped a blue plastic gel around the fluorescent light. The effect worked so well, I consider this panel done!

The Ceiling

The actual room ceiling for The Space Place, is the exposed floor joists for the room above. When we painted everything BLACK it disappeared "OFF stage". This allowed us to install the custom made "On-Stage" ceiling.

Designing the ceiling was no small task. We needed to plan for several different lighting effects while allowing ongoing access to the many different compartments.

The "On-Stage" ceiling features an variety of independently wired lighting effects. The pilot can change the room lighting depending on the desired "mood" or situation. The center beam carries the same "Red Circle" theme seen in the stairs. These are often illuminated in "red alert" situations. While the three support beams have nine "cool blue" room lights for normal operations. When you 'click' on the thumbnail to the left, look closely how the black 'off-stage' area "disappears".

The Escape Shuttle
	Talk about unique, the door to the escape shuttle is, in itself, a work of art. This octagonal opening leads to a future escape pod. (The area under our steps.) This is a very popular play area of the Space Place.

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