Twinkle Shah: Project 1 Castle

Concept: 
When most people think of a castle, they think of a medieval, historic castle made of stone and with large pillars. Although not technically a "castle" by definition, I thought of the Taj Mahal. I wanted to make a more modern version of an old castle with some aspects that resembled the Taj Mahal. In particular, I liked the concept of the 4 pillars that surround the structure, and want to include that in my project. I do not intend to include many other concepts besides the pillars from the Taj Mahal, because I want my castle to have a minimalistic, modern, and futuristic feel.

Taj Mahal-Inspiration

Here is what I came up with:

Ghosted Castle Painted Black

Castle in KeyShot with Materials

Bird's Eye View of Castle

Pedestrian View of Castle

Process:
I started by constructing the base of the structure, which I created using the pentagon form tool. I then used the same tool to stack one more pentagonal prism above the first one. These made the two tiers of my architectonic structure. Next, I added the 4 pillars surrounding my structure that resemble the Taj Mahal. These were also pentagonal prisms, continuing the repetition of the pentagon throughout my design. Hovering above the 4 pillars, I created a ring that serves as a futuristic force field to protect the fortress. I oriented each of the pillars so that a flat edge was lined up with the ring above it. I then added detailing with some small spheres on the points of the two main pentagons and the ArrayPolar command. I wanted to be sure not to overdo the details so that I can stick to my minimalist look. I then added some cones that intersect the 5 sides of the top pentagonal prism, also using ArrayPolar.  

Materials:
For the hovering ring, I used glass (solid grey) because I liked the translucent effect it had. For the top tier and the spheres on it, I used anodized titanium brushed pink, and for the cones, I used a very reflective anodized niobium polished green. The bottom tier is marble (black advanced translucent), giving nice reflections and providing some striking color contrast. The 4 pillars are copper polished, also producing nice reflections of the inner structures. For the lighting environment, I used a lighting with 2 large light sources for ample light. I increased the contrast and included ground shadows and reflections for a nice finish.