BALLENA PIER
Themed Concert Venue, Master Planning, Drafting, Model Making
Katarina Someillan, Lighting Design by Ilya Jacobs
SCAD Production Design Senior Capstone | Spring 2024
A once run-down oceanside pier has come back to life after an unusual discovery below the surface was made. It was found to be home to a massive North Atlantic Right Whale skeleton which overtime had fostered a new ecosystem of algae that glowed from the sound waves coming from boats above. The Ballena Tour Company took this as an opportunity to expose the public to this magnificent site, offering submarine and free diving tours to those seeking a new way to experience live music.
A Vintage-Style Postcard featuring the Ballena Pier 1’=1/4th” model and Submarine
Ballena Pier is a concert venue that aims to augment the live entertainment experience for the modern era by placing guests at the center of themed environments, from the moment they step onto a pier straight out of a postcard through to the end of the encore under the sea.
My deliverables for this project included a Drafting Packet (ground plans, elevations, and colorboards), Model Making of the Pier, Submarine, and Whale Skeleton truss, and a presentation outlining my research and end product. Additionally, I collaborated with Ilya Jacobs (SCAD ‘24, Lighting Design), who produced the light plot for the undersea concert venue and walked me through what was possible in that space. Dinally, on May 31st, 2024, I presented Ballena Pier to the public in the SCAD Production Design Senior Showcase.
At Ballena Pier Guests can:
Explore a scenic oceanside pier straight out of a postcard.
Partake in a variety of themed food and beverage opportunities.
Obtain band merch and releases exclusive to Ballena Pier.
Take a submarine trip to the ocean floor stage.
Experience a wide variety of concert programing, from major artists to up and coming local acts, while standing under the ribs of a massive North Atlantic right whale skeleton.
Ballena Pier and the Undersea Venue models at SCAD Production Design senior showcase
RESEARCH
When I started thinking about my senior capstone project, it was around the time that I noticed a lot of music venues, both in South Florida where I am originally from but also all over the world, were in the process of closing due to not being able to rebound financially from the pandemic. These places incubated a culture, community, and sound, and for many artists, were the only to be discovered without having to appeal to the whims of an algorithm.
After reading Live Architecture: Venues, Stages and Arenas for Popular Music by Robert Kronenberg and looking into other music venues that people seek out for the venues intrinsic entertainment value, I came up with these design goals:
Commits to the expectations of long time concert fans.
Appeals to the tastes of a wider demographic that is willing to spend on location-based experiences.
Creates an inviting space for acts to book
Justify a a certain ticket price and create repeat guests
It’s not just a box where shows happen to happen; the experience has to be all encompassing.
My aesthetic research took place over Summer 2023, beginning with vintage postcards by Curt Teich that I wanted to emulate in the look of the pier. Nearly the entire project started as quick notebook sketches.
Curt Teich communicates the salty air of Ocean City and Old Orchard Beach through wispy clouds and slightly desaturated colors. It’s not just about communicating a condition of a place, it’s a feeling that assigns value to this small textured paper.
Early sketches of Ballena Pier in pen and mildliner markers
SPACE BREAKDOWN & DRAFTING
Ballena Pier features two distinct floors. Guests enter through the top floor Pier featuring food and beverage, merchandise, and places to sit and take in the scenery before heading down to the venue. They would then have the option to either take a “Submarine tour” on the submarine lift or “free dive” down a scenic spiral staircase. Once under the sea, guests would find themselves under the skeleton of a North Atlantic Right Whale that has gone through the process of Whale Fall, where glowing algae has made a new ecosystem between the ribs of this massive creature .
Additionally, this venue has more than just the basics. Plenty of backstage space is allocated to serve the needs of crew and talent. A low sensory room towards the back of the venue supports guests who would like to get out of the crowd for a moment. Most exciting of all, to show Ballena Pier’s support for the local scene, Ballena Records is a recording studio and indie label committed to helping local artists produce, distribute, and promote their music. This would culminate in concert programming that not only brings in larger artists for a uniquely intimate performance but also local acts who would like the opportunity to use in-house lighting and sound equipment for an unforgettable performance.
The process of putting together this entire drafting packet took me about 6 weeks, where I went from a basic knowledge of AutoCAD to being able to fully integrate this program into process.
Color Board for “The Beach Buoys” merch facade
Ground Plans for the Pier (top) and Undersea venue (bottom)
Model Making
In the second half of the Spring 2024 quarter I worked on the Physical Model Making that would communicate the size and flow of this 850 person capacity venue. In order to save time, I exported the drafting I made in AutoCAD into Adobe Illustrator for laser cutting onto basswood sheets. I then painted the facades with a mix of acrylic and matte medium to receive the desired linen postcard effect. Creating extremely detailed facades that get shrunk to quarter-inch scale came with the challenge of keeping track of many small to microscopic pieces in between SCAD’s laser cutter and my workspace.
In addition to laser cutting, I also dove deep into pink foam fabrication with the Submarine and Shovel & Pail beverage kiosk. Both used pink foam carving technique, wall spackle to fill in gaps, chipboard for details and acrylic. I used wire to create the submine railing and a small wooden dowel for the eyestock.
For the whale bones, I made a skeleton out of aluminum foil and then covered it with just under three whole blocks of sculpey! After baking, I then primed the bones with a light gray and aged it with a wash made from cheap acrylic paint and water. I then dotted the skeleton bones with UV pain mixed with heavy body gloss medium for the glowing algae.
Other elements in this model included foam and plastic board for the shell, the sky painted onto muslin, and readymade model pieces.
The Submarine, from pink foam to paint
Pier facades modelmaking process
Whale bone aging
Shovel & Pail beverage kiosk fabrication procreess
Final Facades
SCAD Production Design Senior Showcase
This project was a massive undertaking and a way for me to incorporate everything I had learned in my time at SCAD and my passion for bringing people together to share an experience. This could not have been possible without the support and guidance of my professor and Chair of Production Design Lisa Ryan, my peers, co-workers at Presidents Quarters Inn, and the numerous individuals that I pitched this idea to. All I can say is thank you.
