The inspiration for Star Wars' Sandcrawler, Hôtel du Lac, faces imminent demolition

2019-03-27T19:27:00-04:00

"(The hotel) is one of the rare standing testimonies of the brutalist movement in North Africa. [...] Hôtel du Lac was built as an expression of Tunisia's modernity and independence. In contrast to the surrounding architecture, the hotel makes a rebellious statement of departure from both traditional and colonial architectural forms."

This local landmark of Tunis has made quite an impact on the public since its initial opening in 1973. Said to be the inspiration behind a fictional Sandcrawler vehicle in George Lucas' Star Wars films, the Hôtel du Lac also acts as "one of Tunisia's premier brutalist structures" in North Africa. The building was designed by Italian architect Raffaele Contigiani, who was also known for his commissioned works on various pavilions and fairs as well as other hotels around North Africa. The Hôtel du Lac was Contigiani's most known work.

Hôtel du Lac © Ahmet Ersoy, 1993.

The Sandcrawler vehicle from "Star Wars: A New Hope" Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

The ten-floor hotel features 416 rooms which were known to host high profiled guests and A-List clientele. However, in 2002, the hotel closed its doors to the public. Since its closing, the building has remained empty, slowly deteriorating. The once bustling venue attracts several onlookers due to its interesting upside-down pyramid shape and s...

ISIS Threatens Southern Tunisian Towns Including the Star Wars Set for Tatooine

2015-03-25T14:50:00-04:00

Tataouine, the town in Tunisia where George Lucas filmed parts of Star Wars, has become embroiled in the country’s unrest with Isis. The town’s simple domed structures became iconic after they were used for Luke Skywalker’s home planet of Tatooine, and die-hard fans often make pilgrimages to them. But the town has become increasingly unsafe, as it is a waypoint for Isis fighters travelling to and from training bases in Libya, 60 miles to the east.

The article doesn't note that the design of the set is based off the architecture of the adjacent Berber-speaking village of Matmata. Tourists are driven in old Land Rovers by guides across the sweeping dunes of the Northern Sahara to the more famous set, which isn't actually inhabited, but is named after the nearby city/region of Tataouine. I visited the site in 2011 – less as a Star Wars enthusiast and more as a student, then engaged in research on the revolution. At the time, the area was considered a bit dangerous but for slightly different reasons: borders in the Sahara are much more porous than they appear on a map, and armed militants from Libya had been sighted in the region. Now that those forces have pledged allegiance to ISIL, the permeability of Tunisia's borders becomes an even graver issue.

Matmata is a rather sleepy town containing incredibly beautiful and unique architecture. That being said, with the exception of the bar adapted for use in the first Star Wars, none o...

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The inspiration for Star Wars' Sandcrawler, Hôtel du Lac, faces imminent demolition

ISIS Threatens Southern Tunisian Towns Including the Star Wars Set for Tatooine