The Dig

The Dig is one attraction and the “ancient core” of The Atlantis Resort, a $480 million development on Paradise Island, Bahamas. The walk-through adventure allows magnificent undersea views into the largest outdoor marine habitat in the world. Olio, a Venice, Calif., designer of themed environments, established a consistent architectural vocabulary within 15 separate chambers.

Olio served as designer and art director for realistic artifacts and murals. Great care was taken so that each item looked like a bona-fide artifact. For example, Scientific Art Studio, Berkeley, Calif., hand-sculpted, fired and glazed each tile in the intricate bas-reliefs. They also created a fanciful collection of props (like flasks and weapons) from bronze, leather, marble and hand-blown glass, knowing these artifacts would be handled by curious explorers.

Olio established a written “Atlantean” hieroglyphic language and reinforced this illusion by providing manuals and training to venue guides and coordinating “an official storyline” based on the explorers'findings.

Client: Sun Intl., Paradise Island, Bahamas Design: Olio, Venice, Calif. — Charles White III, creative director; Jay Fisher, creative producer; Bernardo Charca, creative producer/field art director; Troy Zimmermann, designer; Robert Durand; project manager; Martin Smeaton; White Design, Venice, Calif.– Heather White and Linda White, principals

Fabrication: MJM Studios, New York City (sample walls and columns); Scenery West, N. Hollywood, Calif. (scenic fabricators); Scientific Art Studio; Berkeley, Calif. (artifact and ceramic bas-relief tile fabricators) — Maren Van Duyn (mural painting); Peter Carlson Assoc., San Fernando, Calif. (artifact fabrication); Larry Albright, Venice, Calif. (lighting effects); Jason Rogers, Long Beach, Calif. (leatherwork)

Construction: Joe Kaplan Architectural Lighting, Los Angeles (architectural lighting); Rock and Waterscape Systems, Irvine, Calif. (stone face plaster, sculpture); Cloward & Assoc., Provo, Utah (water features); HKS, Dallas (architect-of-record); Soundelux Systems, Orlando (A/V systems); Stromburg Architectural Products, Greenville, Texas (architectural prefab); Formglas Inc., N. York, Ont. (door panels); TMT Terrazzo Mosaic & Tile Co. Ltd., Toronto (tile mosaic fabrication and installation)

Photography: Peter Vitale, Santa Fe, N.M.