Factional Architecture: A Study in Form
By Scribe Callista of the Neutral College of Nexus
Foreword: To walk through a faction's halls is to read its primary text. The choice of stone, the line of a roof, the purpose of a space—these are not incidental details but the physical manifestation of a worldview. This study examines the architectural philosophies of the Three Pillars, providing a brief for understanding their societies through the structures they erect.
1. The Concord: The Architecture of Inevitability
- Ethos: Function dictates form. A building is a tool, and its beauty is a measure of its efficiency.
- Materials: Black obsidian, polished iron, and sound-dampening, non-reflective glass. Materials are chosen for their durability, security, and conceptual weight. There is no ornamentation for its own sake.
- Design Principles:
- Geometric Supremacy: Concordian structures are an imposition of rational order onto the natural world. They favor brutalist, geometric forms: sharp angles, massive scale, and imposing, flat surfaces.
- Systemic Design: A Concordian fortress is not merely a building but a system. Corridors are designed for optimal troop movement. Archives are built with redundant structural supports and fire-suppression wards. Every element serves a calculated purpose.
- Psychic Sterility: Public and military spaces are designed to be psychically neutral. The sound-dampening glass and heavy materials create a quiet, still environment that discourages emotional outbursts and facilitates logical thought. This is an architecture of control.
2. The Garden: The Architecture of Emergence
- Ethos: A structure should be a participant in the landscape, not its master. Beauty is found in adaptation and life.
- Materials: Living wood, river stone, and magically-shaped earth. Materials are chosen for their ability to integrate with the environment.
- Design Principles:
- Biomorphism: The Garden abhors a straight line. Structures are grown, not built, following the organic, flowing patterns of nature. Towers spiral like seashells, homes are nestled in the boughs of great trees, and walls are living thickets of ironwood.
- Ephemeral Nature: Their constructions are often temporary, designed to serve a purpose and then be reclaimed by the wild. A war-camp might be a grove of fast-growing trees whose branches are sung into the shape of shelters, left to grow naturally after the camp moves on.
- Psychic Resonance: Garden spaces are alive with psychic energy. A great hall might resonate with the memory of a hundred victory feasts, while a quiet grove might be shaped by the contemplative mood of the Life-Wardens who tend it. This is an architecture of experience.
3. The Middle Pillar: The Architecture of Contemplation
- Ethos: A building is a tool for quieting the mind and revealing the Self. Its purpose is to facilitate introspection.
- Materials: Natural-finish wood, smooth river stones, and translucent paper screens. Materials are chosen for their simplicity, texture, and harmony with one another.
- Design Principles:
- Harmonious Minimalism: Middle Pillar structures are simple, clean, and uncluttered. The focus is on the quality of the materials and the balance of the space. Less is more.
- Inward Focus: Buildings are often designed around a central, empty space—a raked gravel garden, a still pool of water, an open-air courtyard. This architectural void draws the eye and the mind inward, away from the distractions of the outside world.
- Transitional Spaces: Great emphasis is placed on transitional areas like covered walkways (engawa), gates, and doorways. These are designed to be places of mindful passage, where one consciously leaves one state of mind and enters another. This is an architecture of mindfulness.