Jade Bight 13: Aurich
Jade Bight 13:
Aurich
Once again, I welcome you to another edition of The Jade Bight. I know I scared all of you silly last time with all that "landlubber" stuff -- so this time we have a bit of ocean for you. Not as much as you might like -- but just enough to prevent withdrawal symptoms from setting in !! (lol) But to tell the truth, the map focus is anywhere but the ocean.
Aurich is a small town just north of the major shipping port of Emden. The main purpose of the town is to provide a variety of services to its' larger neighbor. Emden requires a source of power, someone to provide trash removal services, and a route for the major rail and highway lines coming south out of Norden. Keeping this in mind, Aurich already had four vital tasks to accomplish before I even began to experiment with the layout.
AURICH: Three views
You will note that I have kept the highway and rail lines to the east and south of the town, leaving the bulk of the map free for other uses.
Shoreline North:
Marina District:
Someone mentioned (quite some time ago) that my marinas didn't have any shops or restaurants, and that they were not well integrated into the rest of the community. Well, this little map has offered me an opportunity to work on that problem (albeit at a smaller scale).
CAPT. JACK's SEAFOOD RESTAURANT:
This is my first attempt at integrating a restaurant into a marina -- Cap'n Jack's seemed to be the obvious choice. Unfortunately, the original author of the lot probably intended to work it into a waterfront setting with more shops and restaurants -- as well as a custom designed boardwalk to match the one on the front of the building. I had to get creative to make the lot look worth the effort. I used some PEG's boardwalk pieces to frame the building, and used Becca's Parking Lots to wrap around the insides. (What's a restaurant without parking -- right?) Due to road access requirements, it necessitated a somewhat tricky arrangement. I backed the whole thing up against my custom "seawall promenade" (sandy colored brick pavers), threw in a bit of free-form landscaping, and polished up the edges with some nice "Paeng's" parkways. Not bad for "a one-off" !
MARINA DETAIL: Four Views
I've used some close-up images to show the detail work that went into building this marina. These are, of course, my custom Nordsee Marina Lots based on "Benoit's St. Tropez" set. Behind the marina quay lots, you see a line of Paeng's parkway pieces. (Very nice stuff. Thanx to Tariely for convincing me to look into them!) Across the road from them we see a median strip with pathways, parking, and Paeng's small market. And behind that you see the edge of a nice R$$$ neighborhood.
If you look closely, in the corner of the marina you will see a newsstand kiosk right beside a pair of public conveniences.
In this corner, you have another newsstand -- this time beside an "Urban Garden" gift shop. You will also note, across the street, we have an up-scale hotel and other businesses.
Finally, at the upper end, you have convenient parking for either the marina, or the business opposite. Note the landscape detail worked into the entire area.
SHORELINE SOUTH:
SHORELINE SOUTH: Overview
Shows the mouth of Aurich Creek.
MARINA: SOUTH SIDE
CASA AZTECA: Re-lot
This time I wanted a restaurant that wasn't actually on the water but would look good backed up against a seawall promenade. "Casa Azteca" looked like it might be just about right (not too expensive -- but not cheap-o-deluxe either). So I removed the pier from the front, made a few adjustments to the lot (hedges, etc), ringed it with parking, worked in some BSC parkways, and connected it up to the Paeng parkways around the marina. Not bad.
BISMARCK STATUE:
NEIGHBORHOOD CHURCH:
PARK & PARKING:
I needed some parking spaces in the business area, so I opted to put them in rear of the buildings, and then fill an odd-shaped corner with a park. What you can accomplish with those little park pieces is amazing.
CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS:
SOUTH SIDE OVERVIEW:
ILL TONKSO PLAZA, PHASE 01:
Someone also recommended that I try a few "Ill Tonkso" office parks. Since this is a small map, I decided not to get carried away. But I like them !! Nice job count -- pretty good landscaping -- easy to plop -- and vaguely repetitive buildings used to make a pattern. I'll get creative when I have a bigger map to work with.
AURICH CREEK: Five Views
I figured this was a good map to really try a few experiments with Tahoe Water -- like using bridges -- and actually working it into a complicated map with restricted space. And before anyone asks -- the creek starts with a fresh water spring in the pond beside the power plant. I'd appreciate any comments you would care to make. Any time I'm trying new things, it always helps to have some feedback. Pay special attention to the cleared areas along the banks of the creek. This is a new idea of mine to leave some open spaces on a map rather than covering the whole thing with solid trees. Let me know what you think !!
POWER PLANT & RAIL SIDING:
NIGHT SHOTS:
Not much to light up -- but here you go --
There you are folks -- the end of one more trip through The Jade Bight.
Please leave comments and feedback. I can always use something else to work on !!
Next time ---
Greeseil: The "Newport" of the North Sea!
-
9
8 Comments
Recommended Comments
Sign In or register to comment...
To comment in reply, you must be a community member
Sign In
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In NowCreate an Account
Sign up to join our friendly community. It's easy!
Register a New Account