submission 1 - equus

"The Tower Guard"

The context of who my character was and where his home was situated strongly influenced my designs. I pictured the structures on a very tight site in the heart of Valencia's old town and surrounded by tall apartment buildings. All the buildings have a compound like feel which stem from the tower guards need to be protected from a world that intimidates him. Design 1 came from the idea of a tower with fingers that reach out and mirror his desire to be part of the world but he is restrained by his own reserved nature. Design 2 strives to appear "normal" beside the buildings that surround it but once past the facade it is a different story. Design 3 came from the idea of a labyrinth, the corridors are lined with books and act as layers of protection from the world and symbolise the complicated layers of my character.

Design 1

Design 2

Design 3

The Tower Guard

He was a solidly built man, tall with broad shoulders and a serious demeanour that often meant people found him intimidating, but Santiago could make children giggle and old men smile with his kind and giving nature. He was The Tower Guard.


Santiago came from a small country town in Spain, his father was the local Man of God and his mother baked beautiful cakes. Though his parents led a contented life, he yearned for more and space away from a community that defined him by the powerful presence of his father. So at the age of 28 and a half, this quiet soul took his first steps through the streets of Valencia and with his eyes wide at the beauty of the city he hoped that he would find what he was looking for.


Five years on and Santiago has settled down to a mostly solitary but contented life as the Tower Guard, its not quite what he pictured but the job suits his nature perfectly. It gives him plenty of time to indulge in his love of observing and recording the quirks of humanity. Santiago does not have many close friends in the city as he finds it hard to reach out because of his shy and slightly withdrawn nature. He also rarely leaves his tower and home but many people will still wave and sometimes stop for a chat with the gentle giant as he stands at his post. Santiago fills his many hours of watching by utilising his talent for reading people. Even though he uses few words when he speaks, his poetry and short stories are an entirely different matter and convey a simple beauty and a deep understanding of people. 


Some people come and stand with Santiago as he guards, they tell him interesting things because they know he would never tell.


He writes where ever and whenever he can but his favourite spots are the little nooks within his home. Its a large sprawling building in the middle of the city which is always shady and cool apart from the piercing spire of the tower which rises above all else into the strong Spanish sun. The interior is solid and relatively bare but this suits Santiago's simple and uncluttered life. 


Maybe one day there wont be so many empty rooms and he wont be the only one to appreciate the beauty of the sometimes aster home he has created. Santiago always thought that one day it would be filled with the large family he had always dreamed of.

Image found //

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruthbruin2002/397285827/