Designed for the Hundredth Visit: Patrick Larsen at Ba Na Hills

Permanent entertainment environments at Sun World Ba Na Hills, Da Nang — produced by Sun Group, directed by Franco Dragone, with production design by Patrick Larsen, Studio Bound.

Ba Na Hills sits up in the mountains above Da Nang. Gardens, attractions, the Golden Bridge. A lot of people come through. In 2023 I designed permanent entertainment environments there for Sun Group, with Franco Dragone directing.

It's a different kind of brief from a ceremony. Slower. Less forgiving.

3D form study of the Base Camp entrance arch — the sculptural language of flame, sun and intertwined columns resolved in monochrome before any colour or context. Production design by Patrick Larsen, Studio Bound.

Designing for the long run

A ceremony only has to land once. A permanent attraction has to hold up on the hundredth visit, and survive weather and crowds while it does. That changes every decision I make — materials, finishes, where the maintenance hatches go, how it ages. Most of the work is the part you'd never put in a portfolio.

Elevation rendering of the Base Camp arch set against the existing resort façade — establishing scale, alignment and the dialogue between new sculpture and historic architecture. Production design by Patrick Larsen, Studio Bound.

Daytime concept illustration — the arch reading as a welcoming threshold against the resort's pale stone, sized to the flow of arriving guests. Production design by Patrick Larsen, Studio Bound.

Working with the mountain

The site does a lot of the work for you. I tried to build with the mountain rather than push against it — entrance pieces and entertainment spaces sized to the resort, not to themselves. On a mountaintop, the landscape is already the show. My job is to add to it without crowding it.

Nighttime concept — the same arch under stars, lit from within, designed to perform after dark as confidently as in daylight. Production design by Patrick Larsen, Studio Bound.

Concept rendering beside the finished build — the design intent and the as-built reality, side by side. Production design by Patrick Larsen, Studio Bound.

What permanent teaches you

You can fake a lot for one night. You can't fake anything for ten years. Designing here taught me to draw for the day the paint chips and the bolts loosen, not just opening night.

The completed Base Camp arch at sunset — sun motif backlit, columns silhouetted, the design holding its own against the mountain. Production design by Patrick Larsen, Studio Bound.