Maxis References

[Jasoncw 11,840]

While I surf the web I occasionally find a building in real life that looks just like one of SC4's buildings.

I personally think that some of the artists searched google for things like "art deco" and picked buildings they liked to base their own off.

Here are some examples I've ran into, if anyone knows of any more, post them!

  

"greater Los Angeles, CA. (near or on Wilshire Blvd.)" and Nichols Manor

  

"Building in Napier" and Kobylanski Accounting (this picture is of the back, so the entrance is not visible)

   (No Picture)

Paris Opera House and the Opera House

Here are the pages I found them on:

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~twp/architecture/artdeco/

http://www.mognw.com/morganstoNZ.html

http://www.rentals-paris.com/monsigny.shtml

This is probably in the wrong forum, if it is, please move it and take out this message.

[toxicpiano 125]

A lot of the skyscrapers in the Euro tileset are from Frankfurt, like the messeturn and commerzbank. Oh and the real world landmarks are based on real world landmarks lol .

[dogscarletnyc 0]

Real life pedriana pharmaceuticals. Real life Wren insurrance' yuck

[SC4Noobie 5]

Yea, it's kinda odd about how it is... I wonder how many they used real world stuff for.

[ACEfanatic 7]

^Probably all of them. But the smaller buildings are more deviant from the actual design...

-ACE

[hamsterTK 93]

oohh nice....

I know the houston set draws off some buildings in houston, i lost the image links but i bet DT could post pics...

[cammo2003 20]

Originally posted by: Jasoncw

This is probably in the wrong forum, if it is, please move it and take out this message. quote>

I'd say so. The Architecture, Urbanism and Planning forum might have been a better choice...

[Jasoncw 11,840]

Well, when I made the thread I was thinking in terms of reference photos for BATers, and I was thinking of the Maxis people as BATers, so that's why I started the thread here.

Then I thought this might be better in SC4 General Discussion, since it's not really about BATing it's about SC4 in general.

I don't think it would go into the architecture forum though, since it's directly related to SC4, but I can see why it could go there.

Here are the ones from Frankfurt (at least the ones I noticed).  You can find the page about each one on emporis.  http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/bu/?id=100563   They're all pretty big buildings in the game, so I didn't add the SC4 names or pictures.  I was surprised to see so many.  Those are some of my favorite buildings from the game.  oh, and emporis doesn't allow linking like this it seems.  So here's just a list.

Commerzbank Tower

MesseTurm

Westendstraße 1

Eurotheum

[Don Miguel 560]

This building was based on the one in the picture below:

[ILL Tonkso 1,236]

Thats not even big ben anyway, even though the game says it is

[Glenni 1,444]

yep,as tonks has said in chat 1000 times , the bell inside is named Big Ben The tower's named St Stephens tower

[ILL Tonkso 1,236]

bam ^^

[LivingInThePast 364]

You can't mention landmarks. That is cheating.

[ACEfanatic 7]

I think I've found Fisk Insurance -

NE corner of E. Adams Street and S. Clark Street in Chicago.

From GoogleEarth it looks like the same building... if I knew the address, I'd look it up on Emporis.

-ACE

[debussyman 1,348]

ACEfanatic: The building you are seeing is the Edison building. But I don't think it looks like Fisk insurance at all.

[DuskTrooper 314]

Does anyone know where Maxis got the ideas for The Bilyk Towers, and the Colin Condos? Those are 2 of my favourite buildings in all of SC4(w RH).

[diablo_del_bano 3]

I remember SC3000 did the same thing, Silver Tower and the tower named something like Justin Place are both in lower Manhattan facing the water.

[ACEfanatic 7]

@debussyman - eh, change the texture and cornice, and it's the same building, I think... Different windows, though.

-ACE

[giorgos69 52]

The most obvious for me was:

Hurt Enterpirse Headquarters

Which is clearly Commerzbank in frankfurt

[dogscarletnyc 0]

I wonder what building is based on van prooijen traiding?

[offgreen 1]

This thread makes me think how much the ingame landmarks to shame to the real ones.

[Jasoncw 11,840]

http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=116835

A building that looks like Cameron's Cameras, although I recall seeing a pre-release screenshot where the building was white instead of green, so it might be a coincidence.

[ACEfanatic 7]

^Yep, that's the right one.

Beautiful building, too...

-ACE

[Odainsaker 2,134]

The Galvin Corp is defintely San Francisco's wonderful art deco Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Building, now called the old PacBell Building.

Trottier Trading, with its clipped corners, seems to be a miniaturized version of Tokyo's giant Shinjuku I-Land Tower.  There are minor differences, such as the missing circular I-Land Hall auditorium, but I remain convinced.

The garish Freytag Building is a shortened version of Henry J. Hardenbergh's 12-story John Wolfe Building, a Flemish-styled historic New York City gem demolished in the 1970s. Considering how striking it often looks in game, perhaps the taller version would have been too conspicuous.

Lind Entertainment is a skinny, pyramid-capped incarnation of Chicago's art deco One North LaSalle building. I wonder why they made it so narrow (fit to lot probably), as the real-world proportioned building has a handsome profile.

Lillard Audio and Brock Furnishings look suspiciously like a rendering of a glitzy modern building I have seen for Shanghai...shucks, I cannot remember the name.

[dogscarletnyc 0]

Lind entertainment is the woolworth building.

[Jasoncw 11,840]

One North LaSalle http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=117440

I-Land Tower http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=104981

PacBell Building http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=118764

Galvin Corp is one of my favorite buildings in the game.  I'm glad it exists in real life too.

I'm really intersted in seeing the John Wolfe Building, but I can't find any pictures of it.

edit: nevermind, lol.

[Odainsaker 2,134]

Hehe, sorry, editing a post over several hours as I try to pull all my books and papers together, as I couldn't find an online image of the John Wolfe Building either and had to scan it. Okay, scan of a xerox of a B&W print. It really does seem whimsically charming, as does many of Hardenbergh's buildings, many of which I am only discovering just because of trying to post to this thread. His best known work is likely the Plaza Hotel in New York, but I find I am really liking the very BATable Schermerhorn Building, which can be seen in detailed glory at http://www.startsandfits.com/hardenbergh/index.html

Ack, they demolished the John Wolfe Building in 1974 to widen a street!

[lrfox 2]

Odainsaker, I checked out the website w/ Hardenbergh's buildings and it's very intriguing. the Rumford Falls Power Building is one i see on an almost daily basis as it's in a really Podunk area in Maine near where i go to college. Who would of thought it was designed by the same architect as the Plaza. personally i don't think it's on par w/ any of the rest of his work. I like the Schermerhorn though.

[Odd from Sweden 129]

Well Odainsaker, yesterday I thougt about posting the John Wolfe Building but I needed to scan it first... well I guess You beat me on that one...

Well here is another very nice New Yorker that Maxis has made use of, The Sherry-Netherland Hotel, known as the Mc Adams Building in the game:

  

Well actually Maxis cheated on this one. They ehm... "forgot" just a ehhh... "little" part of the base :-) This is what the whole building looks like IRL:

Keep up the work with this interesting thread!

[spa 968]

I posted this is another thread like this, but there are two others besides Hurt Enterprises from Frankfurt

Westendstrabe is Khourney Art Foundation

Messetrum is Maxis's Hogan and Wallace