Rivendell is hidden away in a deep valley in the foothills of the misty mountains. It is set amongst woodlands, foaming rivers, waterfalls, and feels like an idyllic refuge and also has a slightly melancholic afterglow, enhanced by the autumnal color, drifting leaves and the detached air of its inhabitants. Director Peter Jackson was keen to create a place that felt enigmatic, so that we would be left with fleeting impressions of its mystery and faded grandeur, but not a clear idea of its exact layout. The design process began quite early on in the project when Conceptual Artists Alan Lee and John Howe had the benefit of lengthy consultations with Peter Jackson, Grant Major and Richard Taylor. As soon as the right overall look was achieved, work began on creating the miniature and its environment. One of the things the design team wanted to achieve was the creation of a place in which the natural world and the culture that had settled into it had a very close affinity. So trees are allowed to grow through buildings and buildings are constructed around trees and over rivers. Set designers looked at Celtic decorative art and Art Nouveau as starting points for Elvish design, and there is also a vaguely oriental influence in the buildings and artifacts. It’s hard to put your finger on what constitutes Elvish-ness, but Alan Lee would say the strong presence of nature in the design motifs, such as birds and plant forms, a flowing elegance in the lines and forms, and a vaguely otherworldly quality. Which is what the team has tried to conjure up through a bit of creative eccentricity and nice lighting. The location for Rivendell was a discreet little corner of a Kaitoke Regional Park. After finding the spot the filmmakers wanted to use, a model was made of the site, and Alan Lee did more drawings, many of them on site, trying to establish exactly how the buildings, towers and walkways would sit in amongst the trees. There was also a large studio set, which encompassed the council chamber, Elrond’s chamber and the balcony where Aragorn and Boromir meet for the first time. There was a waterfall, the area where Narsil was re-forged and several other scenes were shot in different parts of the extensively landscaped gardens. One of the blessings the design team had with this project has been an excellent Greens Department under Brian Massey, who were able to transform grimy warehouses into lush forests often overnight, so that greenery will still be fresh for shooting the next morning. They were careful to restore any natural environments that the juggernaut of this film’s production has rolled in and out of. Helping to create Rivendell was one of the great pleasures for the set design team working on this project.