What popular ‘Star Wars’ destinations say about their respective societies, broken down by an architect

If you’ve ever wondered about the symbolism and design behind some of the most prominent locations throughout the Star Wars universe, or just wanted to spend some time learning some cool new architecture jargon, look no further than Architecture Digest’s breakdown video on YouTube.

The expert analysis unpacks the look and feel of places like Naboo, Coruscant, Tatooine, and everywhere in between, and what the buildings say about the societies contained within. Of course, narrator Sam Williams also dives into the real-world inspirations behind these iconic locales. 

Williams takes a deep dive into details like the design of Naboo’s Royal Palace and its surroundings, how the interplay between the buildings cements the idea of democracy, and how places like Coruscant are the antithesis of such freedoms. 

We learn that the design of Luke’s home on Tatooine is based on (and filmed inside) a real-world North African multi-level structure called a ‘ghorfa’, as well as how Alderaan’s lush and green city layout is reminiscent of an architectural concept called ‘Towers In The Park’.

It’s all super fascinating stuff which is best explained by Williams in the video and is certainly worth thirteen minutes of your time you may have otherwise spent mindlessly scrolling through TikTok and learning nothing. No shade, or anything. 

If anything, it will be a nice time filler to tide you over until the next big Star Wars release, which is of course the hotly anticipated third season of The Mandalorian, landing on Disney Plus on March 1.