• The Game of Life: Context
• The Dorms: A Coliseum of Lost Souls
• The Staircase: A Dance with Disorientation
• The Arenas: Where Colors Tell Tales
• The Dark Spaces: Echoes of the Underworld
• Symbols and Imagery: The Silent Narrators
• The Squid Game: The Final Act
• A Masterpiece Carved in Space and Symbol 

Disclaimer: The following article may contain spoilers for the popular Netflix Series ?Squid Game?.

In the pantheon of television series that have left an indelible mark on popular culture, ?Squid Game? stands as a colossus, not just for its harrowing narrative but for its architectural and design ingenuity. The duo of Hwang Dong-hyuk (director) and Chae Kyung-sun (art director) went all-out to bring the spirit of the plot and emotions of the players to life through immaculate architectural details, design and scale of the set, the colours, symbols and the cinematics. 

Let?s understand it a little better.

The Game of Life: Context

The show tracks the life of one Seong Gi-hum, a divorced father and indebted gambler living with his elderly mother in a dystopian South Korea. There are many harsh reminders, throughout the first episode, of the harsh realities of a society corrupted by capitalism. The episode showcases Gi-Hum?s mother working to make ends meet, as her son struggles to keep even his relationship with his daughter alive. 

Gi-hun?s day goes from bad to worse as he experiences the brutality of loan sharks and the shame of being unable to provide for his family. This part of the episode is a commentary on the societal pressures and the lack of support for those without money, highlighting the desperation that leads individuals like Gi-hun to join the deadly game of ?Squid Game? in hopes of a better life. 

The set-up of the facility where the games are taking place is a stark reminder of their status in society- by the scale, colours and symbolism associated throughout the space portrayed in the show. The very idea of the games? a ?fun? seeking venture devised by the rich who were simply ?bored? of life depicts how life is viewed throughout the series.

The Dorms: A Coliseum of Lost Souls

The contestants wake up in a space that is a blend of a school hall and a prison atrium, with multi-story bunk beds arranged around a large open space. This design resembles a coliseum, foreshadowing the space?s evolution from sleeping quarters to a battleground. The contestants are treated like objects on warehouse shelves, which, as per Kyung-Sun, symbolises the diminishing of their individuality and humanity. The players are even stripped of their identities, and are reduced to mere numbers.  The walls, adorned with pictograms, serve as cryptic oracles, foretelling the grim fate of the players.

The Staircase: A Dance with Disorientation

The ?mazed? staircase, a kaleidoscope of colours and confusion, is a nod to M.C. Escher?s ?Relativity.? It?s a visual symphony that plays with perception, a metaphor for the twisted journey of life itself. The players ascend and descend, their fates as intertwined as the steps they tread upon. The bright yellow gantries and wide angles warp the scale, making the structure appear as an architectural model and reducing the players to toy-like figures.

The Arenas: Where Colors Tell Tales

Each arena is a canvas where the games unfold, painted in the vibrant hues of childhood yet tainted by the macabre reality of the games. The first arena, with its traditional homes painted on the walls, is a grotesque parody of a child?s drawing, a neighbourhood turned into a battlefield. The giant robotic doll, with its unflinching gaze, is a symbol of the omnipresent surveillance and control exerted by the game masters. The appearance of the doll is in fact a culmination of cultural symbols that reflect the experience of childhood in Korea in the late twentieth century.

The second game?s set features playground objects magnified threefold, surrounded by crayon cloud drawings to add childlike touches. This change in scale makes the contestants seem small and vulnerable, emphasizing their powerlessness in the face of the game?s challenges.

The Dark Spaces: Echoes of the Underworld

In stark contrast to the arenas, the dark spaces of ?Squid Game? are the underbelly of the beast. Here, in the shadows, the true nature of the game is revealed. These areas are a stark departure from the colourful play areas, reflecting the duality of the game?s world and the society it mirrors.

Symbols and Imagery: The Silent Narrators

The staff masks, adorned with simple geometric shapes, are a hierarchy of power and anonymity. The circle, triangle, and square are more than just shapes; they are the chains that bind the staff to the game?s cruel logic. The playground settings are not mere locations but metaphors for corrupted adulthood, a stark contrast to the innocence of the games they mimic.

The VIPs, with their ornate masks, watch the games with detached amusement, a chilling reflection of the real-world elite?s voyeuristic consumption of entertainment. Their presence is a commentary on the desensitization to violence and the commodification of human suffering.

The Squid Game: The Final Act

The titular Squid Game is the crescendo of the series, a game that encapsulates the show?s themes. It?s a microcosm of the societal constraints and the cyclical nature of the struggles faced by the players. The game?s design is a metaphor for life?s precarious balance.

A Masterpiece Carved in Space and Symbol 

?Squid Game? is a series where the design is as integral to the narrative as the script itself. The architecture, set design, colours, and symbols are the threads that weave together to form a tapestry of human emotion and societal critique. It?s a show that challenges viewers to look beyond the surface, to see the world not just as it is but as it could be.

Squid Game is a reminder that in the world of visual narratives, the devil is indeed in the details, and every detail in ?Squid Game? is a deliberate stroke of genius. So, take a moment to appreciate the labyrinthine beauty of this architectural marvel, for it is a design that plays with your mind as deftly as the games play with the lives of their players.

Sources

• https://architizer.com/blog/inspiration/stories/the-architecture-of-squid-game/
• https://www.archdaily.com/969927/squid-game-minimalist-chic-and-spaces-of-oppression
• https://www.stirworld.com/think-books-and-movies-the-world-of-squid-game-an-architecture-of-oppression-excess-desire-and-savagery
• https://www.architecturaldigest.in/story/backdrops-for-squid-game-westworld-this-iconic-spanish-architect-ricardo-bofill-designs/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq4uayz9xT4