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I have a personal theory that one of the developers involved in designing Skyrim's Dwemer ruins is a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright, who is America's most famous architect.

Although better known for other projects and styles, during the '20's Wright designed several concrete homes. These homes featured bands and columns of decorative patterned concrete blocks, and the interiors of the Dwemer dungeons closely resemble this aesthetic. The Dwemer metal work is clearly in the Art Deco style, which was very popular during the period of Wright's concrete home phase.

One of the reasons Wright chose to dabble in concrete was connected to fire safety. Wright had a lifelong concern with house fires. He began his career in Chicago, during its rebuilding after the devastating fire of 1871. Also, his own home/studio were set ablaze a couple of times; once by a loopy girlfriend who was a bit of an alcoholic drug addict, and once by an even loopier servant on a bizarre occasion which resulted in multiple murders. The Dwemer ruins are lit by gas lamps, (which were the standard form of illumination in Chicago when Wright worked there, before electrification became standard,) and the fire proof character of the Dwemer ruins ties in nicely with Wright's concerns.

So, I'm thinking that somebody at Bethesda is paying a small homage to Wright. It's quite possible that somebody stumbled across him while researching architectural styles during Skyrim's development. For anyone even remotely interested in architecture, it's extremely easy to fall in love with him and his work. He was a uniquely talented and charismatic artist.

I'm going to move this to General since it's kind of in a grey area as far as being directly related to the game.

There's definitely an art deco vibe to the style (those bronze doors...), but I don't think it much resembles Frank Lloyd Wright's style. More like, Art Deco meets ancient Egyptian meets Byzantine. The Dwemer ruins are fireproof because they're built out of stone, which makes sense considering they're mostly underground fortresses. If they had been built out of anything else, their ruins probably wouldn't still exist.

Wouldn't this topic at least qualify as TES General, though?

Agreed with Deandra. It'll probably get better traffic there. Moving it along.

Also, this is a great topic! I think it's impossible to find something without any real life inspiration. I'm not sure it's entirely Wright inspired, but I can definitely see what you're saying. Very good observation!

Morrowind's Dwemer ruins look pretty similar to Skyrim's although not quite as "pipey". I wonder if the same developer also designed them as well as Skyrim's, I've always loved to explore them and the flipping metal door of Arkngthand was pretty neat for the cube quest for Hasphat, I love how they reintroduced them in Skyrim and how the Falmer are waging a constant war against the remnants of the Dwemer.

It's very steam punk-esque.

Deandra wrote:There's definitely an art deco vibe to the style (those bronze doors...), but I don't think it much resembles Frank Lloyd Wright's style. More like, Art Deco meets ancient Egyptian meets Byzantine. The Dwemer ruins are fireproof because they're built out of stone, which makes sense considering they're mostly underground fortresses. If they had been built out of anything else, their ruins probably wouldn't still exist.

Wouldn't this topic at least qualify as TES General, though?

Firstly, sorry for fouling up. I could have sworn I was in the General Forum when I posted this...

Deandra, I think the Dwemer carved stonework is pretty evocative of Wright's pattern blocks from his concrete homes. Like I said, Wright's concrete homes aren't that well known. Everybody thinks "Prairie Style" when they think of him, and rightly so. It's the style he's best known for, and some of his other work has slipped into obscurity because of the Prairie Style's overwhelming popularity.

Whether or not most people know about the style doesn't change the fact that I have looked at Wright's concrete block style, and I don't see that much of a connection. For one, Dwemer structures aren't made of cubes. I think the domes, towers and arches give a lot of character to dwemer architecture, and none of those elements look at all like Wright's work. The fact that there happen to be gray flat walls certainly isn't specific to Wright, so I'm curious what specifically makes you draw this connection?

It's the game's selective use of rows and columns of carved pattern blocks in Dwemer interiors that puts me in mind of Wright's "textile block" period.

I'm not saying that it's a 100% faithful copying of Wright's work, just that it may have been inspired by it. And, like the thread title says, I could be wrong. Unless some developer breaks cover and comments one way or the other on the topic, we'll never know for sure.