[development] Drupal 'view' with distinct modules

[James McLean]

Howdy,

We're working on a project using Drupal at its core and for one area
of the website we would like to implement a section that is distinctly
different from the rest of the website.

Basically, in simplest terms, what we'd like to achieve is to have one
area of the site distinct from the rest with its own layout and
blocks, possibly even the ability to have blocks anywhere including
the center content section - however it would all need to be a single
installation of Drupal on the same domain if at all possible. I guess
as a last resort it could be run under a different subdomain via the
same installation (I think that is possible with Drupal?) something
like http://myarea.thisdomain.com with the main site at
http://www.thisdomain.com. I havent discussed that option with the
project team though, just thinking out loud with that last point.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Cheers,

James