The Lotus Eaters of Greek Mythology fed men the honey sweet fruit of the lotus and they would fall into a state of lethargic bliss and lost all desire to return to their ships. Time would simply pass but they did not care or realize it because they were so content.
We designed a mobile temple to honor these Lotus Eaters and offer a place for wayward wanders to find bliss and journey through the time and space of the playa. We are now trying to supplement our original design proposal to the DMV and would love your feedback!
The interior is pretty fun and comfortable so we're soliciting comments on the exterior in particular.
The base vehicle is a white 1993 Ford E350 shuttle bus. We built a platform on the top of the temple and plan to have large lotus flower perched on it(pvc petal with mesh and lights). The body of the bus would make the temple itself. We plan to have 16 round columns line the rectangular bus, each capped decoratively. At the top, a decorative trim runs around the temple, with triangular end pieces with burning man and lotus insignia's. At the base of the temple, we plan to have stair sun the length of the bus, like steps leading up to the temple. (new, not in attached drawing) These would cover the wheel wells and offer additional seating. At the back of the bus, we plan to have a flat bicycle rack that will hold several bikes. There will be 5 small columns that decorate the rack like a back balcony area. Pretty much everything is lines with lights, from the columns to the stairs. Passengers enter primarily through a back side door.
The problem we have is how to further mutate the sides of the vehicle and the front. For the sides, we have considered sheets behind the round columns which simply cover the vehicle, but then we lose the windows. Alternatively, we considered thin plywood with decorative window shapes cut out, but we didn't think it fit the temple design. We also considered fake plants between each column to cover the vehicle shape.
Regarding the front of the vehicle, we considered two designs. The first is illustrated in the attached drawing. It includes the roof platform extending forward and being supported by two front columns which run from the front two corners of the vehicle. We can also place a garden goddess with a lotus statue in the center of the hood. OR, we can stop the temple at the passenger compartment, and make the engine hood area a separate thing, such as a front courtyard(cover vehicle front hood so courtyard appears flatter, not sloped), with smaller columns running around it, a statue in the center of the hood, and it adjoins the temple (would leave front windows exposed).
We would really appreciate any and all feedback. Thanks all!
Dusy playa love,
H
Please keep in mind, the pictures below do not show the side stairs running the length of the vehicle that lead up to the temple. Further, they do not show the status on the front hood.
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