The Star Wars movie franchise has had an unrivalled impact on popular culture for close to 50 years since the first movie debuted in 1977 and its fandom spans generations. When the 40-something-year-old owner of this bungalow in Singapore asked his designer to build him a mancave inspired by the movie, it was a project that was both exciting and intimidating. The room in mind was only 24sqm, which was just one percent of the home’s total land area, but it had to deliver full-on impact and cool factor for the owner, a Star Wars fan who wanted to use the space for him and his family to chill out and listen to music, watch movies, work, and to display his Star Wars Lego models.
The designer decided to base his design concept on one of the most recognisable ‘characters’ in the movie, the Millennium Falcon, the spaceship Hans Solo pilots. In particular, he was inspired by the exterior of the embattled spaceship, with its frisbee-like shape and protrusions. His idea for the space imagines someone sitting on the top of the Falcon looking up at its underside. To provide the illusion of being in the spaceship and hurtling through space, the MF Room features round greenhouse-style windows that mimic those in the Falcon’s cockpit looking out to a pitch-black starlit space.
The components were to be proportionally and realistically recreated in 1/6 scale within the room’s tight footprint. The design process started with a lot of research, a large part of which included close study of modelmaker Joe Johnston’s Falcon from the 1977 movie to grasp the machine’s characteristics and concepts. For this room, the designer had to consider both the functional and technical details of the space, plus its wow factor. He wanted the MF room to be an incredible space that would make any Star Wars fan envious.
To achieve the basic shape of the Falcon, the four-sided room became eight-sided by taking in the corners, two of which are now used for the storage and audio-visual equipment, and the other two as the entrance, and study cabin with display shelves. The floor was raised and the ceiling lowered to create a more intimate space, accommodate design elements as well as to conceal various functions. Every inch of space has been milked to create the dynamic and exciting design of the room, with its wall panels featuring a myriad of detail including three-dimensional installations inspired by the Falcon’s rear slot sublight engines and cockpit windows. Display areas and a study niche were also set into the walls, with one window framing the homeowner’s large Lego Millennium Falcon model. In fact, the room sports 16 different vertical planes within its basic shape.
The designer devoted a huge amount of time to ensuring the measurements of each element was accurate and proportionate. To meet the demands of the complex design, the contractor used sophisticated 5-axis CNC machines to achieve precise measurements on MDF board for a high quality build. Even the pattern of the floor grates in the Falcon were faithfully recreated in the two perforated stainless steel steps that lead to the entrance of the room. The action of stepping up and then down into the room gives one a sense of anticipation of entering into another world.
The challenge was also how to integrate and conceal essential functions such as air-conditioning, audio visual systems, and lighting, into the vision of the space seamlessly so everything works well and invisibly. The overall design also had to be child-friendly. The central ducting system of the air-conditioning unit sits discreetly above the metal mesh of the false ceiling. When the air-conditioner is switched off, the fresh air duct and dehumidifier turns on automatically to prevent mould. For the AV system, the designer consulted specialists in the field who installed a high-end stereo system for surround sound with speakers concealed all around within the false walls and ceiling mesh. The film projector, and 110inch motorised projector screen are both hidden within the ceiling and descend at the touch of a button.
Lighting effects were also paramount as the room is sealed off from natural light to project the illusion of being in space. The 12 programmed lighting settings are controlled through illuminated red, blue, white and green push buttons placed randomly within the space; their colours corresponding to the lighted colour scheme. This tactile and primitive control system also provides a bit of interactive fun for the user, adding to the experience of ‘commanding’ the Millennium Falcon. The starlight effect as seen through the round porthole-style windows was created with black paint and fibre optic lighting.
However, the illusion is only complete with American artist Sean Dunston’s impressive custom paintwork covering almost all the surfaces. Through his own knowledge of the Falcon, Dunston gave the interiors a depth of detail and character that only a Star Wars enthusiast could achieve, imagining its wiring, connections, controls and so on. In the movies, the Falcon was referred to as a clunker, a second hand vessel that had seen better days, and this is referenced through the distressed effects of his inspired paintwork.
