The Architecture of Inception

"What's the most resilient parasite? An Idea. A single idea from the human mind can build cities. An idea can transform the world and rewrite all the rules. Which is why I have to steal it." - Dom Cobb, Inception.


Inception, the new film directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is a story of dreams, deceit, and redemption. Leonardo plays Dom Cobb, a thief and architectural prodigy, finds himself tasked with the art of corporate espionage. However, this time he wont be stealing an idea. Instead he is recklessly embarking on new territory: inception -- the insertion of an idea and therefore the perfect crime. In the subconscious Cobb relies on a team of specialists to design, manipulate, and react to the dreamscape around them. But no amount of careful planning can prepare them for what awaits in the deepest crevices of the human mind.

Inception uses sensational computer graphics and visual art to bring an active and adaptive city to life. In this dream state physics can be challenged, sometimes ignored, as in the actualization of Penrose stairs and other paradoxical illusions. This dreamworld is a form of artificial living environment and the stage for inception.

(Image courtesy of imdb.com)