Chapter 3: Street / Market Dressing — Stalls, Kiosks, Benches, Trash / Recycling

Created by Sarah Choi (prompt writer using ChatGPT)

Street / Market Dressing — Stalls, Kiosks, Benches, Trash / Recycling

Streets and markets are living systems. Their credibility comes from utilities, modular furniture, vendor workflows, and the wear that foot traffic leaves behind. For prop concept artists, street dressing is a choreography of silhouettes—awnings, carts, benches, bins—and functional gaps where bodies and goods pass. For production artists, it is a discipline of durable forms, optimized repetition, and readable materials that survive distance, weather, and LOD.

1) Read the street as a machine

A convincing street organizes movement (pedestrians, delivery carts, bikes), commerce (stalls and kiosks), pause points (benches, ledges), and hygiene (trash and recycling). Begin with a flow sketch: entries, desire lines, bottlenecks, and dwell zones. Prop clusters should support this flow: kiosks near intersections, benches facing shade or views, bins within 10–15 steps of food vendors. Silhouette rhythms—vertical masts, pitched awnings, low counters—should be legible in plan and elevation.

2) Stalls: modular commerce

Structure. Pop‑up frames (aluminum extrusion, steel tube, timber) define stall families. Design standard bays (e.g., 1 m or 2 m module) with corner joints and foot pads that step over uneven paving. Cross‑bracing and ballast (water jugs, sandbags) read as safety truths.

Surfaces. Tabletops tolerate abrasion and moisture: varnished hardwoods, HDPE boards, galvanized sheets. Lips and removable trays prevent produce roll‑off and cue sanitation. Edge behavior—a rounded hem or proud trim—must hold a highlight at distance.

Awnings & canopies. Pitch and drip edges telegraph rain paths; translucent materials cast believable shade. Show tie‑downs, grommets, and patch repairs. In sun‑heavy biomes, add lateral valances for low‑angle glare.

Display logic. Tiers at 10–20 cm steps create skyline variety and keep goods within arm’s reach. Hooks and rails diversify hanging goods. Cash and packaging zones sit within elbow sweep but away from spill zones. Place a small tool cluster (scale, tape, ties) where vendors actually work.

Wear & residue. Darkened wipe zones near cash trays, knife cuts on boards, sun‑faded signage strips, and strap polish on corner posts. Texture these at second‑read scale; let table lips and tray steps be geometry.

Production notes. Author one modular skeleton with swappable skins. Protect foot pads, corner joints, and awning hems as geometry through LOD2. Keep counter thickness and canopy rims wide enough to survive MIP.

3) Kiosks: service cores in small footprints

Types. News, tickets, snacks, SIM cards, information, parcel lockers. Each type implies I/O surfaces (windows, hatches, chutes) and utility panels (breaker doors, refill hatches).

Form language. Fixed kiosks favor sheet‑metal shells with hemmed edges, bead ribs, and service doors; mobile ones use cart undercarriages with tow eyes and stowable stabilizers.

Interfaces. Transaction windows with speaking grills and shelf lips; ticket or receipt slots with weather hoods; payment pads with proud bezels and tactile guides. Design ADA‑compliant heights or the world’s equivalent.

Signage. Core brand panel at eye level, secondary price list below, and operational decals (hours, permits) on the service door. Backlit frames should remain legible in grayscale; avoid hue‑only identity.

Utilities. Cable glands, water coupling caps, drain ports, and ventilation grills explain self‑sufficiency. Place maintenance ports on rear/side faces readable from service alleys.

Production notes. Keep hem radii, bead pitches, and service door offsets consistent across variants. Model payment bezels and receipt chutes; do not rely on decals for mechanical reads.

4) Benches: pause furniture with urban logic

Families. Timber‑on‑steel (slats with brackets), cast concrete (monolithic), molded plastic (parks), and integrated planters. Each family owns a silhouette: slat rhythm, mass block, or single‑shell curve.

Ergonomics. Seat height (≈430–460 mm), back angle (≈100–110°), armrests as anti‑sleep or accessibility supports. Edges require radii for comfort; slat gaps drain rain and discourage graffiti pooling.

Site fit. Orient to shade/view; avoid blocking desire lines. Place near bins and lighting but clear of door swings.

Wear. Polished slats at mid‑span, darker patina under armrests, gum shadows, bolt rust trails on concrete. Chips occur at corners and forklift scars on movable benches.

Production notes. Author slat and fastener modules for instancing. Preserve seat front bevels and armrest profiles through LOD2; they carry the bench read.

5) Trash & recycling: hygiene as design

Systems. Single bins, pairings (trash + recycling), triads (add compost), or split‑body units. Provide lid grammars: flaps for compost, slots for paper, circles for bottles.

Affordances. Proud rims to avoid hand contact with grime, pedal or handle actuation on covered units, bag retainer rings visible under lid planes. Service doors hinge forward with captive chains.

Placement. Near food and transit nodes but clear of queues. Shadow them with benches or poles to avoid mid‑flow collisions.

Signage & color. Use iconography that survives desaturation (bottle silhouette, leaf, document). Keep minimum pixel sizes for labels at gameplay distance.

Wear. Scratches at drop zones, drip streaks under lids, polish on handles, sticker ghosts from public notices.

Production notes. Model lids, rims, and service seams as geometry; bake only micro dents. Keep opening shapes readable at distance.

6) Shelters, poles, bollards, and edges

Transit shelters, light poles, and bollards scaffold the street composition. Shelters show gutter logic, panel clamps, and bench integration. Poles need base plates, access doors, and cable exits. Bollards reveal impact wear and reflective bands. Curbs, ramps, and tactile paving define accessibility; bevels and domes must be geometry to cast cues at distance.

7) Utilities & back‑of‑house truth

Markets breathe through back‑of‑house elements: hose bibs, floor drains, electrical boxes, gas meters, grease traps, storage cages, and breaker panels. These should cluster logically near alleys and kiosk backs. Delivery routes demand pallet jacks, curb cuts, and bumpers. Let these utilities inform stall placement and kiosk service doors; the street reads smarter when there’s a visible reason for everything.

8) Climate adaptations

Dust/sand. Louvered kiosk vents facing downwind, covered cash drawers, and fabric skirts on stalls. Benches prefer simple mass forms that shrug grit.

Rain/jungle. Deep canopies, gutters to chain drains, raised feet on kiosks, and non‑slip slats. Bins with rain shields and drain holes.

Cold/snow. Pitched awnings, minimal ledges, glove‑friendly latches, and de‑icing grooves on ramps. Benches with fewer horizontal surfaces and thermally neutral materials.

Heat. Shade first: overhangs, reflective roofs, ventilated kiosk crowns. Avoid black plastic seats; specify lighter finishes that fight heat soak.

9) Branding, permits, and language

Market authority and vendor identity coexist. Issue standardized stall numbers, fee stickers, and health‑permit plates while allowing vendor banners and color trims. Design a sign grammar (primary banner zone, price card zone, permit plate zone) so scenes avoid visual anarchy. Use original iconography and typographic systems; avoid lifting real logos. Price cards should be readable at mid‑distance with large numerals and minimal copy.

10) Accessibility & safety

Design curb cuts, tactile paving at crossings, and clear aisle widths (≥1.5 m or your world’s norm). Provide cane‑detectable edges, armrest benches near transit, and queue guides for kiosks. Safety truths include ballast on canopies, rounded stall corners at pedestrian height, and cable covers over temporary runs. Treat these as silhouette decisions, not decal add‑ons.

11) Research and ethics in markets

Fieldwork yields authentic grammar: visit markets, photograph stalls in setup and teardown, sketch cash flow and packaging stations, and note vendor hacks. Obtain permission before photographing people or proprietary displays; blur faces and license plates. Avoid reproducing a specific artisan’s signature layout; abstract the structural principles—tier heights, hook rhythms, banner placement—into your own designs. For cultural markets, consult on motifs and language; represent accurately and respectfully.

12) Camera realities & LOD survival

Isometric/top‑down scenes read via planform: canopy footprints, bench outlines, bin openings. Third‑person needs clear canopy edges, kiosk faces, and bench fronts. First‑person foregrounds counter lips, payment bezels, and bin rims. Production should protect: canopy hems, stall corner joints, kiosk service seams, bench front bevels, and bin opening shapes through LOD2. Set screen‑space minima for type and icon labels; bake micro wear, not mechanical affordances.

13) Failure patterns and fixes

Craft‑fair sameness. Identical canopies and tables. Fix: vary frame profiles, canopy pitches, and ballast solutions within a family.

Decal‑only storytelling. Stickers stand in for mechanics. Fix: model hinges, rims, drains, and clamps; let geometry carry function.

Flow denial. Benches block aisles; bins create bottlenecks. Fix: re‑map desire lines; push pause furniture to edges; mirror real‑world spacing.

Weather blindness. Flat roofs, open vents in rain zones. Fix: add gutters, hoods, and pitched planes; rotate louvers.

Cable invisibility. Powered kiosks with no feeds. Fix: add conduit, cable trays, and access plates.

14) A practical workflow from sketch to ship

  1. Map flows, utilities, and dwell zones; choose stall and kiosk families.
  2. Thumbnail silhouettes: canopy + counter + circulation gaps; avoid tangencies.
  3. Lock materials/process (sheet metal, timber, plastic) and fastener dialect by family.
  4. Design affordances and service logic (hinges, hatches, drains, ballast) as geometry.
  5. Add climate adaptations and accessibility cues that read in silhouette.
  6. Build a modular kit (stalls, kiosks, benches, bins) with swap skins and signs.
  7. Validate in camera with shrink/blur tests; adjust label pixel minima.
  8. Handoff orthos + placement rules + LOD survival checklist; populate with instancing.

Street and market dressing works when silhouettes, utilities, and vendor workflows align. Build modular families that respect weather and accessibility, let geometry do the functional storytelling, and protect those truths through production. The result is a street that looks used, earns trust, and rewards the player’s eye from any camera angle.