#decepticon base

First, let me orient you. The battle in ch 37 takes place in Ultrix, which is primarily desert and contains (as relevant to the chapter) a capital city under Autobot control, a Decepticon outpost, and one of Shockwave's labs much further west.

This helps me figure out how the outpost needs to be designed for an assault on the capital and potential defense against the 'Bots. The outpost clearly needs to be facing east, towards the capital, and given a means of seeing as far out as physically possible.

In addition to this, I'm also relying heavily on the 'Cons operating as a movement first, military second. They don't know how to set these outposts up in an "ideal" way. What they do have is wartime experience and Vosians. For all that Megatron gives Starscream grief, that Starscream knows theoretically how to run a military effectively is huge. Add on that seeker buildings are inherently designed to see across large distances, it would make sense that seekers had a hand in designing this specific outpost. Hence, we end up with this:

Seekers don't want an opportunity for grounders to get in or out, so the only obvious entrance/exit in facing west, towards Shockwave's lab. They heavily fortify the perimeter and ensure the wall is taller than or as tall as their more vulnerable structures inside. The wall also has corridors fit for cannons and runners, though this is mainly there for the 'Con grounders' sake. They would also prioritize air-access. Two parallel runways/air strips allow larger mechs, such as shuttleformers and triple changers, a way of taking off and landing anywhere on base. There's also a landing zone on the roof of the medical bay, which is where the majority of triage patients are transported to from one of two locations nearer the battlefield. The Tower is the tallest structure, standing at double the height of the wall, and offers a full-round view of the base and surrounding area. That darker border I drew represents this; the highest level's walls alternate between being glass panes or open entry points for seekers to very quickly jet in and out of. The two glass lifts on either side of it are made of a kind of plexy glass that, though it can withstand consistent high pressures, can be shattered easily in the case of an emergency requiring a very immediate exit. (There are also stairs inside and outside the building.) It's round and clear to offer occupants a complete view of the base and surrounding area even on the journey between levels.

Additionally, though the two barracks look the same, one of them is specifically for the airforce while the other is for grounders. Equality often requires equity, and these structures differing are a way of providing needed accommodations to both flyers and grounders. #1 is more open, contains skylights, and has much squishier berth cushions. #2 is more closed in (dark spaces for those whose optics were made for mines and night-work), is made of sturdier materials for much denser mechs, and prioritizes having a variety of berth sizes over berth cushions.