From the Movies
Extending from the churning seas of Kamino is Tipoca City, a hermetically sealed metropolis mounted on mighty stilts that withstand the buffeting winds and waves. While the city does stand defiant against the elements, a closer look at its architecture reveals graceful curves that help redirect and deflect the winds.
Tipoca is the capital of Kamino, and serves as the residence of Kamino's Prime Minister, Lama Su. In the heart of Tipoca City is a massive cloning facility, run by the native Kaminoans, reputed to be the best cloners in the galaxy. Records indicate that Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas commissioned the construction of a clone army about ten years prior to the outbreak of the Clone Wars. To that end, the Kaminoans used a bounty hunter named Jango Fett as the genetic template of the army.
Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi discovered the secret army while investigating Fett's involvement in an assassination attempt on Coruscant. While there were many unanswered questions regarding its creation, the Kaminoans recognized the Jedi and the Republic as the rightful owners of this new military force.
When Supreme Chancellor Palpatine decreed a state of emergency brought on by the increasingly hostile activities of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Jedi took possession of the army and transported it to Geonosis to engage in the first battle of the Clone Wars.
From the Expanded Universe
When the Kaminoans first lifted their society from the waters of their homeworld, they built simple wattle and daub shelters that shed water easily during the lengthy storm seasons. Tipoca is an ultra-modern extension of that tradition, featuring design-work from some of the keenest architectural minds in the galaxy.
The disc-shaped structures are mounted on firm pylons embedded into the shallow continental shelf below. While the pylons look deceptively brittle, their small profile presents a minimal silhouette to prevent excessive battering from the waves. Spiking the city's otherwise minimal skyline are large communication towers capable of punching signals through the chronically disruptive atmospheric conditions. Static discharge towers help neutralize potential dangerous lightning strikes during the most hazardous of electrical storms.
Behind the Scenes
The designs of Tipoca City draw inspiration from numerous sources, including massive offshore oil derricks and the retro curved science fiction cities of pulp magazines. For the city's interior, the designers crafted a clean, ultramodern and antiseptic environment of shimmering white, recalling the stark color palette of George Lucas' first feature film,
THX-1138.
Very little of Tipoca City was actually built full-scale. Jango Fett's apartment module and the landing platform were realized as sets, but most of the tour of the clone facility was realized through the use of miniatures.
