tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-156712812024-03-13T23:18:49.866-07:00Virtual SuburbiaThe Architecture of Second Life®, reviewed on the fly.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-72572116405887682972023-07-17T20:23:00.013-07:002023-07-17T21:26:22.376-07:00Broken Image Links - Don't Click ThemHi everyone - just an update here from the year *<i>checks notes</i>* 2023? What?? Holy crap that went fast! <div><br /></div><div>While it is kind of amazing that this site is still up and running, for as much as people talk about stuff on the internet lasting forever sometimes it doesn't. </div><div><br /></div><div>Back in the day I uploaded most of the Second Life screenshots for this blog to image hosting sites SL Universe and Snapzilla (aka slpics dot com) run by one of the OG residents. Tonight I was reminiscing a bit and starting to think about re-launching another old project, when my travels brought me back here via Hamlet Au's <a href="https://nwn.blogs.com">New World Notes</a>, which is still going strong (F-yeah Hamlet!). </div><div><br /></div><div>I noticed that most of the images (linked from SL Universe / Snapzilla) on these posts weren't displaying properly, and when I attempted to follow the links back to the source I was redirected to a different site entirely, at which point my security software stepped in and said "<i>whoa big fella, I see we've got ourselves some malware on that site so maybe we won't go there.</i>" </div><div><br /></div><div>So yeah that happened, and I don't know for how long it has been happening. I think the only responsible thing to do would be edit the posts and redact the images, but it's going to take a while. So the next most responsible thing, maybe, aside from taking the whole blog down, is to put up a post on the homepage. </div><div><br /></div><div>So here we are. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's kind of nice to be back, even if the circumstances suck. Sad to lose the images, sorry for the inconvenience. Stay safe out there. </div><div><br /></div><div> -C</div>Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-49341712776531491802009-05-08T08:22:00.000-07:002009-05-08T12:06:06.470-07:00Just my Two Fingers...on the radial artery of this blog, that is. <br /><br />Its Follow Friday for <a href="http://twitter.com/chippoutine">@chippoutine</a>, and I was thinking of people who click on the link in my profile only to find another dead blogspot site.<br /><br />Well, its not <span style="font-style:italic;">dead</span> dead, something more akin to being nestled in a cocoon, hunkered down for a long and slow metamorphosis.<br /><br />In the meantime, I've been posting some random sketches and other cruft over at the blog of our somewhat less nascent virtual design atelier - <a href="http://www.priondesign.com">www.priondesign.com</a><br /><br />As well, if you're interested, have a look at <a href="http://www.simvineyard.com">www.simvineyard.com</a>, which documents the development of a Second Life island completed for a startup California winery. The island has since been taken offline, however you might find the blog to be an interesting read. Some of the "<a href="http://www.secondeffects.com/2009/04/active-second-life-blogs-2009.html">SL blog roundups</a>" seem to indicate that simvineyard is actually more active than this site. *sighs*<br /><br />Finally, feel free to peruse the archives around here, and if you like what you see let me know - perhaps the cocoon might start to resemble a piñata.<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by!<br /><br />-C.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-45792578856406850552007-06-13T10:33:00.000-07:002007-06-13T09:34:31.538-07:00Gathering Refuge<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chippoutine/543995530/"><img style="margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; float: left; width: 121px; height: 72px; cursor: pointer;" alt="RMIT" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1309/543995530_dfb17fd36e_m.jpg" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chippoutine/543995354/"><img style="margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; float: left; width: 121px; height: 72px; cursor: pointer;" alt="RMIT" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1184/543995354_123df156a7_m.jpg" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chippoutine/544096593/"><img style="margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; float: left; width: 121px; height: 72px; cursor: pointer;" alt="RMIT" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1197/544096593_e102a2b1aa_m.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />In addition to the Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm's <span style="font-style: italic;">LOL Architects</span> utilizing <a href="http://secondlife.com/">Second Life</a> as a tool for architectural education (previously mentioned <a href="http://www.virtualsuburbia.com/2006/04/little-sweden.html">here</a> and <a href="http://www.virtualsuburbia.com/2007/01/archi-nnections.html">here</a>), this <a href="http://www.inaminuteago.com/mindtracks/index.php/archives/2007/06/13/rmit-island/">post</a> at <span style="font-style: italic;">Sharon B's Mindtracks </span>reports at least one more university utilizing the metaverse to teach design and problem-solving skills, namely the School of Architecture and Design at Australia's RMIT University.<br /><br />Very much like LOL's sim, RMIT Island (<a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/RMIT/60/206/31/?img=http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1225/543995306_f56cc8f01f_m.jpg&title=Refuge&msg=As%20reviewed%20at%20www.virtualsuburbia.com">view on map</a> | <a href="secondlife://RMIT/60/206/31/">direct teleport</a> | <a href="http://www.sial.rmit.edu.au/Projects/SL_Lost+Found.php">website</a>) is an explosion of ideas that attempts to push the boundaries of architectural possibility, arguably blurring the lines between space, sculpture, graphics, and information in a manner not for the timid and seldom achieved in corporate builds.<br /><br />While both islands present amazing works ranging from the slightly polemic to the downright esoteric, if the two were to be compared it would seem that the LOL students have had more freedom to define their own project parameters, with the RMIT projects appearing more focused by virtue of a relatively explicit design brief. For example here is the programme for the first of two assignments (the other being a space of gathering) completed over the course of the studio:<br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Project 1: Lost - A Space of Refuge</span><br />Design a space of refuge that is inhabitable by two to three people and examines the architectural relationship between interior, exterior and landscape. Inform this design by reading Borges’ short story on the relationship between the map and its territory, and develop a spatial and cultural understanding of refuge through architectural design. </blockquote> As a result most of the RMIT projects felt to some degree like buildings as opposed to installations, yet it also seemed like the RMIT students were designing objects to be explored through camming rather than avatar movement. While one is compelled to dispense a healthy amount of leeway given the experimental nature of these works, many were frustrating to navigate and others entirely uninhabitable. In such cases personal impressions quickly degrade from breathless to just huffy.<br /><br />Among the notable exceptions is Dinah Cortes's take on the Refuge project. In case you were wondering, it's the green thing pictured above. Quoting from the notecard dispensed at the entry:<br /><blockquote>The sequence of different spaces, lead the visitor to walk through a gradual initiation of darkness, light colours and sounds in being more aware of one’s true nature and relationship to the rest of the existence. Reaching a stage of isolation and contemplation, the viewer can experience a kind of meditative reverence, bringing out the vibrant spirit of nature.</blockquote>Perhaps excluding the grandiose part about having me relate to the rest of existence, this eye-catching build does what it says. Simple, elegant, expressive, and even a little profound. I'd give it seven thumbs up.<br /><br />Or maybe just an A.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-11174439578968023602007-06-05T22:33:00.000-07:002007-06-05T21:34:53.676-07:00Korova Milk Bar<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chippoutine/525737924/"><img style="margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; float: left; width: 121px; height: 72px; cursor: pointer;" alt="Korova Milk Bar" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1066/525737924_8b96fa0c11_m.jpg" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chippoutine/525826427/"><img style="margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; float: left; width: 121px; height: 72px; cursor: pointer;" alt="Korova Milk Bar" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/199/525826427_3e6c06650d_m.jpg" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chippoutine/525737904/"><img style="margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; float: left; width: 121px; height: 72px; cursor: pointer;" alt="Korova Milk Bar" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1184/525737904_297f34ebfc_m.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Speaking strictly from personal observation, the residents of <a href="http://secondlife.com/">Second Life</a> have spent considerable energy creating spaces inspired by literary reference. Some are based on specific authors and works such as John Norman's <span style="font-style: italic;">Chronicles of Gor</span>, others are simply evocative nods to science fiction and fantasy novels that lack obvious attribution. <span style="font-style: italic;">Star Wars</span> fandom notwithstanding, there seem to be far fewer spaces drawing their inspiration from traditional cinema (an admittedly clumsy qualifier used to differentiate it from the rise of spaces serving machinima, whether they take the form of backlot sets or personalized screening rooms).<br /><br />While first envisioned in the words of Anthony Burgess, <span style="font-style: italic;">A Clockwork Orange</span> is better known from the film that made him infamous, and the Korova Milk Bar in the sim of Geoje (<a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/Geoje/151/200/41/?img=http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1066/525737924_8b96fa0c11_m.jpg&title=Korova%20Milk%20Bar&msg=As%20reviewed%20at%20www.virtualsuburbia.com">view on map</a> | <a href="secondlife://Geoje/151/200/41/">direct teleport</a> | <a href="http://www.korovasl.org/">website</a>) is not the first build in SL to hatch as the spawn of impresario Stanley Kubrick. In the archives of <a href="http://nwn.blogs.com/">New World Notes</a> Hamlet Au <a href="http://secondlife.blogs.com/nwn/2005/05/midnight_movies.html">reported</a> on Korov-oid tribute spaces dating as far back as 2005. Nor can the genius of the man be contained in-world, as one is reminded every time the grid <a href="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.secondlifeinsider.com/media/2007/05/bang_on_things.jpg">goes down</a> - heck, I've even used that flick as a reference in one of my earliest <a href="http://www.virtualsuburbia.com/2005/09/tyg-jarricos-burning-life.html">posts</a> on this site, not to mention a subsequent <a href="http://www.virtualsuburbia.com/2005/11/slightly-droog-homes.html">review</a> of a prefab known as 'Slightly Droog.'<br /><br />That hasn't deterred Italian SL residents Mavi Beck and Franci Kubrick from being the latest to settle into the meme and make it their own in a way that (intentionally or not) belies the detached coolness and soulless hedonism depicted in the movie. A shared sense of cinematic immersion seems to instead evoke a kind of kinship with one's fellow avatars that cuts through the usual personal barriers of bling and bootylicious-ness.<br /><br />Franci and Mavi have out of necessity elaborated upon the stark and partial glimpses of the bar as presented in the film. The walls feature the same scrawled menu of drug-laced dairy products seeping from brightly lit porcelain nudes (although they didn't serve drencrom, which is what I was drinking). Filling in the gaps however are a number of more whimsical elements, like a giant spinning turntable dance floor emblazoned with the giant spinning head of Ludwig Van. The bar itself is accessed by ascending a staircase from an art gallery on the ground floor. While the artworks currently on display are themselves compelling and the framegrab tableau of ultra-violence one encounters at the top of the stairs quite powerful, the entreatment to "Be a Smart Droog - Rent a Shop in Korova Milk Land" takes the whole thing down a peg.<br /><br />So while these additional elements are executed to varying degrees of conceptual consistency, it could be argued that the flaws of this build are in fact what yield its charms. If one accepts the notion that presence in a literary world is all about disappearing, perhaps presence in a cinematic world is all about being seen. This iteration of the Korova Milk Bar has a definite lived-in feel, infused with the personality of its builders.<br /><br />All of which leaves your humble narrator unable to look away, and hungry for ticks of toast.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-87232647967653079552007-04-04T23:00:00.000-07:002023-07-17T20:33:50.177-07:00The Ties That Bind<div>[Images Redacted]</div><!--<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/pic.aspx?id=146821"><img style="margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; float: left; width: 121px; height: 89px; cursor: pointer;" alt="the ties that bind" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx?file=146821.jpg&w=121&h=89" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/pic.aspx?id=72663"><img style="margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; float: left; width: 121px; height: 89px; cursor: pointer;" alt="the ties that bind" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx?file=72663.jpg&w=121&h=89" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/pic.aspx?id=72664"><img style="margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; float: left; width: 121px; height: 89px; cursor: pointer;" alt="the ties that bind" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx?file=72664.jpg&w=121&h=89" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />--><div><br /></div>The self-described sardonic jackass Lordfly Digeridoo is known on occasion to betray his declared modus operandi with insightful and entertaining rants on his <a href="http://www.lordfly.com/">blog</a>. Easily one of the most prolific builders in <a href="http://secondlife.com/">Second Life</a>, the portfolio on his site merely scratches the surface of a body of work dating back to SL's earliest days. In fact, last month he <a href="http://www.lordfly.com/wordpress/?p=169">posted</a> about a collection of <a href="http://sl.dreamhost.com/sl_march_2004/">historic photos</a> capturing Second Life's sum total of 108 sims as they existed back in March 2004, and was able to identify many of his own builds in the snapshots.<br /><br />The post reminded me of my own time spent on the <a href="http://www.slhistory.org/index.php/Color_Sims">color sims</a>, which for many represent the 'old world' of the grid. While working on the <a href="http://www.priondesign.com/post/456579">Mauve Infohub</a> I'd occasionally check out the surrounding environs where a simple sculpture on Green called 'The Ties That Bind' (<a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/Green/134/215/4/?img=http%3A//www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx%3Ffile%3D72663.jpg&title=The%20Ties%20That%20Bind&msg=As%20reviewed%20at%20www.virtualsuburbia.com">view on map</a> | <a href="secondlife://Green/134/215/4/">direct teleport</a>) managed to attach itself to the nether regions of my brain.<br /><br />We've previously explored the theme of ephemerality in Second Life architecture, how the ability to instantly erase or conjure a build from inventory makes it seem in some senses disposable. Yet at the same time this very volatility leads one to savour the structures as they manifest themselves in the moment, insecure in the knowledge that at any other given moment they could be gone, perhaps forever. Edifice in the physical world, one might suggest, could in fact be easier to take for granted and/or even dismiss, easily shuffled into 'mental inventory' with the comfort of knowing it is going to take significant effort (and copious explosives) for a building to be removed.<br /><br />Where the comparison falls down, of course, is when we begin to compare the material qualities of the 'stuff' that captures and envelopes real versus virtual space. A real brick wall does a lot of things that a virtual one can't, like withstand being crushed under the weight of the bricks above it, feel cold and rough to the touch, taste like dirt, smell like...you know what I mean. There's a certain completeness to the way in which these materials are 'read' that tends to outweigh the effects of ephemerality described above. Add some recreational drugs into the mix and one might call it a draw.<br /><br />So what happens when the stuff of virtual architecture stops trying so hard to achieve the sense of gravitas it hopes to gain by incompletely imitating that which we have come to know in the physical world? Arguably it has the potential to make up for these deficiencies, take on its own character, and sit alongside physical architecture on a continuum of spatial experience.<br /><br />In a small way, this is precisely what 'The Ties That Bind' appears to do, with Lordfly's post nudging me to document it before it disappears.<br /><br />While not necessarily inhabitable in the same way as other works of Second Life architecture (unless one's avatar happens to be very very small (and a distinct possibility BTW)), the slipperiness of scale afforded by the camera allows viewpoints from within as well as around the sculpture, a diminutive collection of tortured prim ribbons that when considered as a whole come together to form a very complex, evocative, and gestural surface, a victory for raw expression over rational geometry the likes of which not commonly seen in-world.<br /><br />It achieves its surface qualities through an apparent lack of concern for providing any sort of enclosure or 'envelope', and a seeming disinterest with being a building at all. And yet for me anyway it alights in the imagination as the facade of a distant skyscraper that upon approach transforms into something different altogether. While far less likely to be seen hanging from a rear view mirror, the closest analogue is perhaps the Native American notion of the dream catcher as a filter for unseen forces of imagination, allowing us to pause and perhaps perceive things may have been, or things that may never be.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-47699889240524281682007-03-27T07:57:00.000-07:002007-03-27T09:23:51.669-07:00Sliding into Second<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.rabble.ca/rpn/podcast.php?id=wos"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.rabble.ca/images/slices/de91c7a2282829d876aa02b9135c80dd/wos400x140.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />As the number of podcasts focused on <a href="http://secondlife.com/">Second Life</a> increases (and stands poised to explode upon the release of the voice client), <a href="http://www.w8nc.com/">Wayne MacPhail's</a> '<a href="http://www.rabble.ca/rpn/podcast.php?id=wos">Who's on Second</a>' remains one of my favourites. The show is an enlightening look at Second Life that goes beyond the typical media memes to highlight non-profits, educators, activists, and now me.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.rabble.ca/rpn/episode.shtml?x=58164">Episode 19</a> proved a marvelous opportunity to discuss some of the ideas that have been gestating here at Virtual Suburbia. The conversation covers a lot of ground, including the idea of spatial versus formal experience and whether we 'feel' space based on some sort of inherent physiological hardwiring or perceptual conditioning, through to how the notion of 'presence' extends across 3D and 2D media like email, IM, IRC, and Twitter, as well as how spatial apprehension and metaphors are brought to bear on one-to-many and many-to-many interactions. Upon first listen it would also appear I could stand to talk slower, say Um a few less times, and not come so dangerously close to contradicting myself. Good times.<br /><br />One of the more challenging parts of the few interviews I've done is to narrow down a shortlist of admirable people and work to discuss. For that I would like to apologise in advance to anyone not specifically mentioned, and suggest our archives as a means of gaining a somewhat fuller sense of the scope and breadth of architectural talent in Second Life.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-21634389262199470832007-03-03T00:10:00.000-08:002007-03-02T23:25:47.387-08:00Another 'First': Annual Second Life Design CompetitionJust in off the wire, and something you may be interested in - A call for submissions for the "First Annual Architecture and Design Competition in Second Life". The competition appears to be the brainchild of Munich-based artist and architect <a href="http://www.doesinger.com/">Stephan Doesinger</a>.<br /><br />From the competition's website <a href="http://www.sl-award.com/index_en.php">www.sl-award.com</a> (link is to English version, original URL is in German):<br /><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">Topic of the Competition:</span><br />Seeking the coolest, most spatially interesting and aesthetically independent pieces of architecture from the inhabitants of Second Life. It can include all buildings: from big to small, spaceships, underwater constructions, villas, fully landscaped and designed islands, complex high rises. Decisive are creativity, innovation, features, style, and spatial qualities.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Deadline:</span><br />September 1st, 2007</blockquote>Most intriguing is this excerpt from the 'background' section of the site, perhaps a nice summary of the tree we've been barking up for a while now:<br /><blockquote>What matters in Second Life is the architectural function of the building. Even if one cannot enter them, like the CAD renderings, in a physical way, the communication happens on many levels: aesthetic, linguistic, musical, and finally with virtual buildings, which one could also call walk-in plastic sculptures. This alone is something that real architecture sometimes can't achieve any more. Here, "architecture happens" and creates in this way, as contradictory as it may seem, "real places." Only through the "beyond human" physicality in Second Life – one can even fly as an avatar or teleport oneself – are new spatial connections made. The exciting question is: Which relation does the real architecture (-culture) have to this development and vice versa – on all levels?</blockquote>My instant reaction to any RL architecture competition (in North America, at least) is a certain degree of skepticism, usually related to the inevitable politicking and compromises that occur if the winning design is ever to get built at all. The only potential concern about this one is that it seems to cast the net a little wide as it pertains to the *actual* criteria that will collectively emerge among the jurors to deem a spaceship better than a high rise, for example.<br /><br />Regardless of how that plays out, the intentions at a quick first glance seem good, and barring any unforeseen malicious legalese the potential is for every entry to be of value to the creator, win or lose, as an actual 'built' work, providing a function in <a href="http://secondlife.com/">Second Life</a> rather than simply languishing on paper and relegated to gathering dust.<br /><br />That said, I can't recall the last time my inventory was swept out.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-89940810196528526242007-03-02T21:35:00.000-08:002007-03-02T22:34:53.015-08:00The Long CommuteWe're back home again after a rather stressful outage, related to Blogger.com's ability to utilized custom domain names for Blogspot hosted blogs. As an emergency measure, all traffic was being directed to our project blog <a href="http://www.simvineyard.com/">www.simvineyard.com</a>. The rather convoluted solution employed was found <a href="http://groups.google.com.jm/group/blogger-help-troubleshoot/browse_thread/thread/275a3728fa40ad36">here</a> on the Blogger Help Group.<br /><br />We also took the opportunity to get a <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/VirtualSuburbia">feedburner feed</a> up and running and will be looking at the most appropriate strategy to get our ducks in a row in that department. Anyway, glad to have that all behind us. The site should be accessible from www.virtualsuburbia.com, virtualsuburbia.com, and virtualsuburbia.blogspot.com, with all of the current incoming links to the site in tact.<br /><br />Thanks for your patience and understanding (not that we have any grandiose notions of self-importance, mind you). We just felt it very important not to confound new visitors from sources such as (my favorite formZ author) Lachmi Khemlani's AECbytes <a href="http://www.aecbytes.com/buildingthefuture/2007/SecondLife.html">Feature</a> on Second Life's potentials for Architecture, Engineering, and Construction in Real Life.<br /><br />As well, within minutes of service being restored, it was a delight to find a <a href="http://www.virtualsuburbia.com/2007/02/high-on-e.html">comment</a> submitted on our review of the 'Creepy Peepers' Apartment Towers, by none other than Scott Teplin himself, the artist behind the original print work on which the build was based.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-3026385702064139722007-02-28T10:30:00.000-08:002023-07-17T20:38:43.199-07:00High on E<div>[Images Redacted]</div><div><br /></div><div>Occasionally in an attempt to replicate the serendipity of discovering builds on the <a href="http://secondlife.com/">Second Life</a> mainland I'll engage in some random island hopping. The results range from unsavory to stomach-turning, to intriguing, delightful, and even sublime. Not necessarily in that order. Sometimes simultaneously.</div><br />The sim of Sudo sits on the latter half of that spectrum. As originally <a href="http://sl-art-news.blogspot.com/2006/08/bumbershoot-arts-festival-and-frye-art.html">posted</a> at Second Life Art News, the island was launched for a mixed reality collaboration between Seattle's Bumbershoot Arts Festival and The Frye Art Museum. It contains works from some of SL's most talented creators, running the gamut from Cory Edo and Forseti Svarog's sea monster 'Chester' all the way to Dancoyote Antonelli's spectacular expressions in Hyperformalism.<br /><br />One work on Sudo seems to sit comfortably within this range and yet somehow above it all. In bringing <a href="http://www.teplin.com/">Scott Teplin's</a> pen and ink work '<a href="http://www.teplin.com/sketch_2006/cp_towers_bw.jpg">Creepy Peepers</a>' into the third dimension (so to speak), Kim Anubis and her fellow <a href="http://www.themagicians.us/index.php">Magicians</a> have conjured a build (<a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sudo/46/169/27/?img=http%3A//www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx%3Ffile%3D144670.jpg&title=Creepy%20Peepers&msg=As%20reviewed%20at%20www.virtualsuburbia.com">view on map</a> | <a href="secondlife://Sudo/46/169/27/">direct teleport</a>) that sits engagingly between the realms of realism and abstraction, architecture and art, illustration and reproduction, a feat of illusion which like a bifurcated bikini clad showgirl leaves you scratching your head, utterly amazed, and feeling a little strange all at the same time.<br /><br />Creepy Peepers (which just finished showing as a part of the '<a href="http://www.teplin.com/HEAVY_WATER/">Heavy Water</a>' solo exhibition in Paris) is a voyeuristic glimpse into the domestic struggles of characters we get to know but never get to meet. Unlike the often disappointing adaptations of books into movies, the migration of this piece into Second Life seems to invoke an additional layer of resonance over and above what was already a wondrous little drawing to begin with. The axonometric view of the unspoken intentions of high rise dwellers explodes in new ways and from multiple angles when alt-zooming into every hand-drawn nook and cranny of the structure, as if donning a pair of super-binoculars from one's own balcony window.<br /><br />My only disappointment about this build is no fault of the artist nor the folks who brought it to Second Life, for it would appear so evocative as to bring back a long forgotten childhood preoccupation with the books of <a href="http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/authors/richard-scarry/">Richard Scarry</a>, and as such, I kept waiting for Lowly Worm to peek his head out from around a corner. He never did.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-18267315419297260862007-02-13T08:05:00.000-08:002023-07-17T20:40:11.042-07:00thing-king<div>[Images Redacted]</div><!--<a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/pic.aspx?id=102501" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="funhaus stilman" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx?file=102501.jpg&w=121&h=89" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 89px; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/pic.aspx?id=96649" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="American Apparel Store" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx?file=96649.jpg&w=121&h=89" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 89px; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/pic.aspx?id=92128" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="Butterfly Tiki Bar" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx?file=92128.jpg&w=121&h=89" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 89px; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />--><div><br /></div>Last Monday the blog of print publication <a href="http://www.thingsmagazine.net/index.htm">Things Magazine</a> included Virtual Suburbia alongside Keystone Bouchard's <a href="http://archsl.wordpress.com/">The Arch</a> in a reading roundup (check for the Feb 05 entry, as no permalink seems to be available) of sorts, and had the following to say:<br /><a href="http://archsl.wordpress.com/"></a><blockquote><a href="http://archsl.wordpress.com/">The ARCH</a>, a weblog that 'explores the convergence of the metaverse with the real life practice of architecture'. Ultimately, it boils down to this: can <a href="http://secondlife.com/">Second Life</a> be used as a real world professional tool for architects and planners? From our vantage point (without a presence in the virtual community), the answer would have to be a resounding no. Turns out that there is a burgeoning community of design-obsessed commentators circling the infamous on-line community; see also <a href="http://virtualsuburbia.blogspot.com/">Virtual Suburbia</a>, 'the architecture of Second Life, reviewed on the fly'. The question has to be why.</blockquote>As for Keystone's work, I'd encourage you to check it out and decide for yourself, and suggest his most recent posts (as <a href="http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2007/02/mixed_reality_m.html">covered</a> in New World Notes) make a very compelling case to the contrary.<br /><br />I tried to leave the following comment on the post but was told "Your form appears to be incomplete or your comments may be seen as spam," so it has been reproduced here:<br /><br />"The lofty goal of Virtual Suburbia is to draw out criteria on a case by case basis of what constitutes architecture appropriate to the (non) physical and cultural contexts of Second Life. The problem-solving approach brought to bear on such architectures is in many ways ported from and translated back to design in Real Life. If the formal characteristics are not the same, the spatial experience and the very idea of a 'solution' to a particular function, be it of significant gravitas or indeed 'just a game' has much to teach myself at least about design in general, and most of my learning comes in the dialogue that is facilitated by the weblog form.<br /><br />The not-so-lofty goal is to simply draw attention to the many talented individuals expressing their creativity with Second Life as the medium and provide additional information to those holding the assumption that Second Life as a whole reflects a bland unconsidered cacophony of shopping malls and doll houses.<br /><br />Oh yeah, and its fun.<br /><br />So, thanks for posing the question, allowing for a revisit of why exactly I'm doing what I'm doing, and to have discovered your excellent publication along the way."<br /><br />Sorry if this is repetitive to any longtime readers. Thought it might also might be helpful for those visiting for the first time, for which you have my thanks.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-1170280770947623062007-01-31T13:57:00.000-08:002007-01-31T14:16:10.283-08:00Your Dream Cubicle<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/modahome/359639479/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/142/359639479_dcde79422d_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: 1px solid rgb(227, 228, 228); padding: 3px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" /></a><br /><span style="margin-top: 0px;font-size:0;" > <!--<a href="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://www.flickr.com/photos/modahome/359639479/">OFX Series Cubicle</a> <br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://www.flickr.com/people/modahome/">modahome</a>. --> </span></div>Second Life resident Nathan Babcock has created some stunning residential prefabs and furniture. One look at his Flickr <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/modahome/">photostream</a> and you'll quickly get a sense of his talent.<br /><br />Nathan's work is interesting not merely for its clean modern lines but also for the questions that it raises, as embodied in the 'OFX Series Cubicle.'<br /><br />Flickr user Frans Martins picks up on this with the following comment:<br /><br /><blockquote>Love the design. Very architectural minimalistic. But, cubicles!! I would love small sandboxes and pleasant social enviroments. I am also learning and making buildings and furniture. SOmetimes we are so condition from the rl space, we miss the virtual posibilities and the SL rules.<br /><br />Instead of buildings... you can have floating space, maybe circular with plants around... bridged @ a distance with the other work areas or social meeting points... all to reduce lag, offer better prim performance and reduced chat noise. Now the design of the space could be defaulted to some prefab design, but should be customizable.</blockquote><br />As one would aspire to simulate a real office, these pieces are exquisite, but like Frans it leads me to wonder (while Linden Lab thanks me for my continued patience as today's outage has extended beyond its anticipated timeframe) how the residents of Second Life actually work. While there are some who do remain within the confines of their club or store, my guess is not chained to a desk.<br /><br />It might be a good question to ask the folks at Wired Magazine, who at the time of my last visit had followed a fairly traditional office model but themed the whole place to look like a giant circuit board. It makes a statement about who they are as an organization, even when nobody's around.<br /><br />Just as an empty house communicates the personality and preferences of the absent avatar, perhaps a virtual cubicle might also symbolically communicate one's rigor and professionalism to visitors of his or her virtual workplace. The difference, perhaps, might be that most of us look forward to returning to our houses or at least the idea of having a place to come home to (if you're not completely of the householding / roleplaying persuasion) while a comparative few would pine for their dream cubicle, no matter how nice it is.<br /><br />Unless you happen to be the boss, and the thought of watching your employees supplicate puts a smile on your face. Actually, I'm sure there are plenty of people with plenty of good reasons to purchase the OFX Series Cubicle, which is but one small part of a significant portfolio of cool stuff.<br /><br />Keep up the good work Nathan, as soon as they let us all log back in.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-1168636783851757572007-01-12T12:48:00.000-08:002007-01-12T22:43:11.553-08:00House and FoundationsSince our popular <a href="http://virtualsuburbia.blogspot.com/2006/07/little-house-on-sandbox.html">Little House on the Sandbox</a> post from last August, residential designer Keystone Bouchard has gone on to great things. Namely, he loaded up the truck and moved to <s>Beverley</s> the Bay Area to join metaverse developer <a href="http://www.clearink.com/">Clear Ink</a>, where he has completed such projects as <a href="http://www.3pointd.com/20061129/cyberia-rising-autodesk-enters-second-life/">Autodesk Island</a> and most recently the United States House of Representatives in <a href="http://secondlife.com">Second Life</a> at which events were held during the swearing in of new House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.<br /><br />On his blog 'The Arch', Keystone shares his <a href="http://archsl.wordpress.com/2007/01/12/house-call/">insights</a> into the design and construction of this landmark, including the discussion of whether to faithfully recreate the existing space or to adapt it as he does successfully to both the pragmatic function of Second Life's avatar and camera controls as well as the symbolic notion of 'opening up' the building in a gesture to increased transparency and accessibility as facilitated by the democratic process.<br /><br />In an earlier post Keystone also provides a <a href="http://archsl.wordpress.com/2006/12/06/second-life-foundations-transcript/">summary</a> of the event he and I hosted last month for both new and seasoned builders. Dubbed 'SL Foundations,' the objective of the event was to share tips, techniques and resources through discussion and demonstrations, placing emphasis on the practical aspects of 'how to build' over the theoretical aspects of 'why to build'. Two of the goals coming out of this event were to: 1) have more events like it and 2) launch a wiki to capture and centralize all of the good stuff coming out of the session.<br /><br />While the second event has not yet been planned, the wiki has been launched, and I invite you to head over, check it out and feel free to contribute. Does the world need another wiki? Some would say not, but, unlike most wikis <a href="http://www.SLFoundations.org">www.SLFoundations.org</a> is at the very least easy on the eyes, and quite fun to use.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-1168533895264689272007-01-11T08:15:00.000-08:002007-01-11T10:08:58.373-08:00Archi-nnections....Because J-Wu already named his post <a href="http://wu-had.blogspot.com/2007/01/archinected.html">archinect'ed</a>, ok? Seriously, though, when a link comes in from <a href="http://archinect.com">Archinect</a> it means a lot, being one of my favorite sites for news, projects, and a great discussion forum, free of construction industry cruft and precipitous product pimpage (unlike <a href="http://archrecord.construction.com/default.asp">these guys</a>, who also happened to <a href="http://archrecord.construction.com/features/digital/archives/0701dignews-2.asp">post about SL</a> this week with a well-deserved introduction to the work of Tab Scott).<br /><br />In <a href="http://archinect.com/features/article.php?id=47037_0_23_0_M">Architecture's Second Life</a> the reader is presented with an in depth analysis of the topic, including a brilliant interview with Tor Lindstrand, a.k.a. Kapital Metropolitan, with whom I've also had the pleasure of meeting last year when covering the final crits for <a href="http://www.unrealstockholm.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page">LOL Architect's 2006 studio</a> with a <a href="http://virtualsuburbia.blogspot.com/2006/04/little-sweden.html">review</a> of Vava Vavoom's 'Little Sweden' project.<br /><br />Of course the article introduces the well worn debate of design conservatism in a virtual world where anything is possible (ignoring things like prim budgets, flicker, and z-fighting presumably), however Tor steers clear of any assertions that his work or theories represent any sort of polemic against the status quo rather suggesting that we take a much broader perspective, beyond even the distinction that is often made between the real and virtual, where spatial experience is of primary importance.<br /><br />Some of his students may be thinking otherwise, however. Raplaa Lazarno's '<a href="http://www.unrealstockholm.org/wiki/index.php?title=Enter">3D Graffiti</a>' project daringly explores the line between architecture and griefer build as he rumbles with castles, log cabins, and the infamous low prim beach house.<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by, Archinect readers. Feel free to peruse the archives and join the conversation as we continue to explore the architecture of <a href="http://secondlife.com">Second Life</a>.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-1168281683052154462007-01-08T10:29:00.000-08:002007-01-08T10:41:23.076-08:00Now with More PressPerhaps one of these days we'll get around to posting another actual architectural review, but in the meantime here's another press clipping ;)<br /><br />This time, it is courtesy of the National Post, a Canadian national newspaper, who did a little <a href="http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=a6c990c8-072f-41a7-aa12-d566f4166246">feature</a> (free sign-up required to read the entire thing, regrettably) on entrepreneurship in Second Life, mentioning the Prion Design Group and our <a href="http://www.simvineyard.com">ongoing efforts</a> for the <a href="http://www.pinotblogger.com">Capozzi Winery</a>, including a brief interview with Josh Hermsmeyer, the owner of the RL winery and the Capozzi Winery Island in SL.<br /><br />A good foundational article with a lot of stuff that will be familiar to those who track SL's development on a regular basis, however it chose to focus on my speculation vis a vis the value that architects could add to the virtual real estate market, when during our conversation this was included in the context of a larger discussion that included custom design services and product sales.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-1164924105492960032006-11-30T14:00:00.000-08:002006-11-30T14:09:58.693-08:00Second Life FoundationsVirtual Suburbia and <a href="http://archsl.blogspot.com/">The Arch</a> will be co-hosting "Second Life Foundations: A Primer for new Architects and Builders."<br /><br />It will be an informal gathering, to welcome new architects to Second Life, and to bring people who love architecture together.<br /><br />Keystone Bouchard, myself, and invited guests will be providing helpful tools, tips, contacts, resources and demonstrations to architects who are just getting started in Second Life.<br /><br />Tuesday, December 5th<br />7:00 pm SLT (Pacific)<br /><br /><a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tinta%20Verde/153/68//">Tinta Verde 153, 68</a><br /><br />Thanks to <a href="http://www.rikomatic.com/">Rik Riel</a> for including us in his weekly <a href="http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2006/11/riks_picks_for__2.html">picks</a> over at New World Notes.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-1164526987987018412006-11-25T23:13:00.000-08:002006-11-26T08:12:26.726-08:00Welcome SpectatorsA week ago last Friday I was contacted by Shannon Proudfoot, national reporter for the CanWest newspaper chain to comment on the launch of Mario Gerosa's Synthravels, a travel agency providing guided tours to the Kodak Moments of the MMO universe. In addition to Synthravels Mario is attached to some very important work, including the Convention for the Protection of Virtual Architectural Heritage.<br /><br />Last weekend <a href="http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&amp;amp;amp;cid=1164409812808&call_pageid=1020420665036&col=1112188062620">the story</a> ran in the Ottawa Citizen and the Victoria Times Colonist with many papers across Canada electing to pass on the story, perhaps pushed off the page by the launch of two new video game consoles. However a week (wii-k?) later it was picked up by the Hamilton Spectator and also published on their website.<br /><br />The article doesn't contain any printed urls or active links, so if you happened to arrive here via search engine you may also be interested in the following:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.synthravels.com">Synthravels</a> - the main topic of the article<br /><a href="http://mariogerosa.blogspot.com/">played in italy</a> - Mario Gerosa's Blog<br /><a href="http://www.secondlifeherald.com/slh/2006/11/here_come_the_v.html">The Second Life Herald</a> - Home to muckraker extraordinaire Peter Ludlow, also interviewed for the article<br /><a href="http://www.simvineyard.com">simVineyard</a> - blog for the project we are working on with the <a href="http://www.pinotblogger.com">Capozzi Winery</a> in the online world of <a href="http://www.secondlife.com">Second Life</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.secondlife.com/"></a>Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-1160710075985072512006-11-17T11:30:00.000-08:002023-07-17T20:41:27.105-07:00THE DUDE's Pad<div>[Images Redacted]</div><!--<a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/pic.aspx?id=61891" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="THE DUDE's pad" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx?file=61891.jpg&w=121&h=89" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt;" /></a><a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/pic.aspx?id=61890" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="THE DUDE's pad" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx?file=61890.jpg&w=121&h=89" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/pic.aspx?id=61892" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="THE DUDE's pad" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx?file=61892.jpg&w=121&h=89" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />--><div><br /></div>Following a discussion of the very public and didactic <a href="http://virtualsuburbia.blogspot.com/2006/10/elvis-has-left-building.html">First Second Life Church of Elvis</a> comes a quiet place of repose and solitude that by comparison lacks any apparent function or purpose. Yet it is this very ambiguity that offers up a portal to the possibilities and provocations inherent in 'THE DUDE's Pad', located in the <a href="http://www.secondlife.com">Second Life</a> region of Stinson (<a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/Stinson/134/105/45/?img=http%3A//www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx%3Ffile%3D61890.jpg&title=THE%20DUDE" msg="As%20reviewed%20@%20www.virtualsuburbia.com"">view on map</a> | <a href="secondlife://Stinson/134/105/45/">direct teleport</a>).<br /><br />Largely devoid of the iconography or signifiers of traditional residential construction, THE DUDE's Pad could be considered more of a pavilion than a house, a small living room connected to both the visual qualities of the surrounding context and also the broader opportunities inherent in a virtual environment.<br /><br />Set into the side of a small escarpment, the build (much like the <a href="http://virtualsuburbia.blogspot.com/2005/12/single-maltz-residence.html">Single Maltz Residence</a> reviewed long long ago) is a study in how to integrate with the landscape. Unlike many <a href="http://www.slboutique.com/index.php?p=buy&cat=83&phrase=NonCommercial%20Buildings">prefab houses</a> in Second Life usually created to maximize versatility and potential sales volumes, subsequent copies of this structure might look rather strange in any other location. In this case the ephemerality of the Second Life landscape (i.e. the ability to be easily transformed) also heightens the attributes inherent in such a response.<br /><br />In general, sharp angles and forms are juxtaposed with a warmth of materials to frame and enhance the organic-ness of the surroundings, making this a serene and tranquil stopping point. Unconcerned as many houses in Second Life are with hermetically sealing itself off from the rest of the world, it reveals itself as a continuous flow of space from outside to inside where one circulates along a series of ramps from the upper sitting area to a small outdoor garden space below. There are no doors or windows, and the space is largely devoid of objects. There is no kitchen, plasma screen or security system. The focus is outward, to the trees and the terrain, and one might suggest also inward to the self, as setting the stage for quite contemplation.<br /><br />Structurally, the residence seizes the opportunity to express itself in a manner that is easily understandable and yet in also counterintuitive to what we might expect in 'real' space. This paradox leads to a ready apprehension of the rules that would be broken if it were to encounter the persistent belligerence of gravity. Specifically, the reading of the main supports seems to fluctuate somewhere between a column or a truss, with its attached semi-transparent panels sheltering mesh walls and tension cables that do a seemingly heroic job of helping to support the ramp system. The net result one might suggest is to subtly enhance an overall sense of place in a world that exists without physical laws.<br /><br />Yet, with a name like '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Lebowski">THE DUDE</a>'s Pad, it ultimately fails to live up to certain expectations, like a bowling lane, or a fridge stocked with milk and Kahlua. There is a rug, but it doesn't tie the room together, nor does it look particularly peed upon. Sigh. Then again, perhaps I've been quietly contemplating a bit too much now, and should get out for some air. Or a drink.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-1161924531270405242006-10-26T21:33:00.000-07:002023-07-17T20:42:21.851-07:00Elvis Has Left a Building<div>[Images Redacted]</div><!--<a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/pic.aspx?id=110103" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="The Church of Elvis" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx?file=110103.jpg&w=121&h=89" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt;" /></a><a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/pic.aspx?id=110118" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="The Church of Elvis" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx?file=110118.jpg&w=121&h=89" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/pic.aspx?id=110112" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="The Church of Elvis" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx?file=110112.jpg&w=121&h=89" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />--><div><br /></div>Hello again, patient and valued readers. I just realized that the one year anniversary of Virtual Suburbia has come and gone without fanfare, celebration, or ceremony. Which is ok. If we should be celebrating anything it is the accomplishments of the builders that I have been fortunate enough to encounter and document over the past thirteen months. Hats off to you.<br /><br />As the discussion of Architecture in <a href="http://www.secondlife.com/">Second Life</a> evolves some common questions persist, with many new and established voices jumping into the fray:<br /><blockquote>1. Realism - does it reproduce, augment, or abandon the physical world as we know it?<br />2. Function - What purpose does it serve? What should<br />it do?<br />3. Execution - how are its ideas expressed (Eg. solid/void, thick/thin, material/immaterial, grounded/avian)?<br /></blockquote>As it pertains to the debate of realism, Caliandris Pendragon has a number of interesting thoughts recently <a href="http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/2006/10/21/reality-bites/">posted</a> over at the Second Life Insider, where it is suggested some find realism boring while others find it comforting, especially as it regards the onslaught of big businesses coming to SL where it is the client (who has worked hard to build a brand in RL) that must be comforted as opposed to the avatar and her actual experience. Prokofy Neva also touches on some of these <a href="http://secondthoughts.typepad.com/second_thoughts/2006/10/dos_and_donts_f.html">issues</a> over at Second Thoughts. Not to mention, the Society for Virtual Architecture is a very lively place to hang out in-world these days.<br /><br />On the subject of function, we have seen that building types translate from RL into SL with varying degrees of success. We've seen houses, stores, offices, factories, schools, and libraries, where it might be implied that function in some cases is more symbolic than literal. That said, one building type that seems to possess an acute sense of purpose these days is the 'place of assembly.' All around the grid you'll find amphitheatres of one form or another, that implicitly or explicitly respond to the dyadic needs of our physical selves and our avatars. Our camera can move anywhere, yet it feels awkward if two or more residents are not actually facing each other, or if they are standing too close together (its amazing that I 'feel' the personal space of my avatar). Therefore we've ended up with a number of spaces where we go to focus our attention on a stage to hear an interview, speech, or performance in a manner 'in person' that is quite different than listening to it on a stream from a remote location.<br /><br />Of these Places of Assembly that exist in both the real world and the virtual, the ones that fascinate me the most are Places of Worship, because they seem to be the most alike one another, both serving a function that is in some senses quite 'virtual'. We trigger animations, speak in strange codes on different channels, rez objects for their communal effect with entities existing in some life that is somehow 'secondary' to our own.<br /><br />So, with all of these ideas rattling around in my head, along comes the <a href="http://secondlife.com/events/event.php?id=326151&date=1161543600">First Second Life Church of Elvis</a>, grinding them up like a mortar against the inner wall of my skull.<br /><br />The build sits on a mere 512 square meters of land in the sim of Nampo (<a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nampo/231/228?img=http%3A//www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx%3Ffile%3D110111.jpg&title=The%20Church%20of%20Elvis&msg=As%20reviewed%20@%20www.virtualsuburbia.com">view on map</a> | <a href="secondlife://Nampo/231/228">direct teleport</a>). While representative of one of the humble gable-roofed churches found in rural areas across North America, it also happens to be hovering in the air, fused with bling and iconography of the The King. Fittingly, a yellow porcelain toilet sits at the apse end from which the clergy (including the Right Reverend Elvis Faust and his associate SpaceProphet Jay (who kinda looked like a young Darth Vegas)) delivered the service. The pews are emblazoned with the visage of The Hilbilly Cat, allowing attendees to take part in a ceremonious sitting on his face.<br /><br />Like any good piece of religious architecture, The First Second Life Church of Elvis creates a paradoxical container that is about being woven together with others in community yet completely alone before a higher power. In this case, that higher power wears a pompadour.<br /><br />But then again, so did I. They were handing them out at the door.<br /><br />I arrived last Sunday, just before the noon service. The congregation was waiting on a small grassy space outside the sanctuary, engaged in conversation with Reverend Faust and the particles emanating from his crotch that might only be described as blue suede ooze. The service that followed was profoundly hilarious and and yet for some reason to me also quite touching, as the tiny space was completely packed with avatars, some standing and swaying, some wearing hot dog(ma) costumes and waving placards. The intimacy of the service as constrained by the miniscule space had the effect of making the sermon more thought-provoking, the music more moving, and me more prostrate at the possibility of another Comeback Special. No less powerful and no less absurd than a religious experience in Real Life, for me anyway (although I have only the garden variety sectarian franchises from which to compare, and yet to sample any of the <a href="http://www.google.ca/search?q=church+of+elvis&start=0&ie=utf-8&amp;amp;amp;amp;oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official">numerous RL churches</a> also dedicated to the consecration of fried peanut butter and banana sammiches).<br /><br />With surging popularity comes talk of expansion, of getting a bigger space to meet the increasing popular demand. I'll have none of it, and beg you not to go all Crystal Cathedral on me. You might as well take a picture of Richard Nixon shaking my hand. No, wait... Ok, well, expand as you must but in my humble opinion the First Second Life Church of Elvis as it exists today is a fitting testament to the people and spirit of Second Life. Not so much a gem as a rhinestone, a glimmering like a sequin in virtual airspace, and the kind of worship I could really get into, if only for tax purposes. Unless there was a Church of Wayne Gretsky. <a href="http://snltranscripts.jt.org/88/88swaikiki.phtml">Waikiki Hockey</a>, anyone?Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-1158725336744967482006-09-19T21:08:00.000-07:002023-07-17T20:43:25.218-07:00funhaus Stilman<!--<a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/102656.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="funhaus Stilman" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/102656.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/102485.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="funhaus Stilman" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/102485.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/102496.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="funhaus Stilman" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/102496.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />--><div>[Images Redacted]</div><div><br /></div><div>With the 2006 <a href="http://www.burningman.com/">Burning Man Project</a> marking its first steps into 3pointD territory <a href="http://www.ogleearth.com/2006/08/burning_man_2_g.html">via</a> Google Earth, <a href="http://www.secondlife.com">Second Life's</a> annual homage to the event is already well established and has enjoyed an exceptional amount of coverage this year thanks to GavinLeigh Wake's <a href="http://burninglife.com">Burninglife.com</a>. And yet while the glowing embers of the festival fade to black perhaps we might take one last opportunity to work the bellows. The theme this year was 'The Future: Hope and Fear'. At the time of the event it wasn't going to be 'the future' until the event was over, so it seems appropriate to discuss it now-er, yeah. A few builders may have also mistook the theme to read 'Ambivalence: Ban Lines and Plywood', however that's not to say the festival was devoid of compelling experiences. Far from it.<br /><br />At its best Burning Life, like any time-certain event in Second Life, is intensified by its ephemerality and the knowledge that hundreds of person hours of avatar effort will at some point implode to inventory or scatter throughout the grid. What sets it apart is its subject matter, where residents have the potential to be not merely amused but also confronted by deeper and more personal visions on the part of the creators. For a brief time the playa is a condenser, saturated with inspiration and perspiration, where boundaries are drawn on the endless asymmetric expanse of the mind, creating a momentary compound from which to contemplate the world and our place within it.<br /><br />These qualities were exemplified, even amplified, in funhaus Stilman.<br /><br />Located on the Tianci sim, funhaus Stilman featured 2D artwork by the avatar of the same name, however far from being just another art space seeking to gently fade into the background as a value-neutral container for its wares, the funhaus proved a twitchy high-strung agonist, a work of art in and of itself, propelling a singular, seamless, phenomenal collage on the hardpan of the playa.<br /><br />As with any tractor trailer unfurled at the county fair and worth its weight in stuffed animals, the funhaus experience was metered out in small doses, and while forced to follow a preset path visitors were denied the comfort of being able to conceptualize the whole thing at once. A series of circuitous and tenuous catwalks occasionally enveloped by mesh and tactile membranes thus seemed to create an elusive and not entirely uncomfortable slippage with the surroundings, to which like a dissected worm the build was delicately pinned via a network of metal twigs and concrete piers.<br /><br />Proportionally, the spaces unfolded as a combination of dark compressed corridors and open platforms, the former providing a frame for artworks mounted onto protruding light boxes, the latter affording moments of relative respite with views across a central courtyard. Within this central courtyard a dome structure and attached blobby duodenum functioned as one of the few consistent landmarks for navigation, however color was carefully used to provide depth of field and subtle wayfinding cues throughout.<br /><br />The dome might have also been considered the physical and emotional climax of the journey. Nowhere was the connection between the artwork and the build more apparent than from the viewpoint from inside, where the combination of opaque printed panels and transparent vision panels blended to create a singular apparition of art and architecture, of media and manifestation. One might imagine standing in the pinhole of a camera obscura, or Plato as a carny.<br /><br />As with Tyg Jarrico's <a href="http://virtualsuburbia.blogspot.com/2005/09/tyg-jarricos-burning-life.html">build</a> from last year, hopefully the funhaus will find a permanent home, that is to say as permanent as anything in SL ever turns out to be. And yet one suspects it just wouldn't be the same be able to not only visit the funhaus at anytime but also to put off visiting it at any time as well. As I tire of blowing hot air perhaps the intent here was not only to heap praise and sincere gratitude on funhaus Stilman (and indeed all of the Burning Life builders) but also to make my time there last just a little bit longer, keeping it firmly rooted in the place from whence it came.</div>Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-1156397105057937252006-08-23T22:22:00.000-07:002023-07-17T20:44:19.263-07:00Mobile's Home: The TELUS Store<div>[Images Redacted]</div><!--<a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/96667.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="TELUS Store" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/96667.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/96677.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="TELUS Store" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/96677.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/96670.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="TELUS Store" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/96670.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />--><div><br /></div>As reported in <a href="http://www.3pointd.com/20060811/introducing-chip-poutine/">my</a> first <a href="http://www.3pointd.com/20060811/rl-telco-says-hello-to-sl/">post</a> for <a href="http://www.3pointD.com">3pointD.com</a>, Canada's second largest telecommunications company has set up shop in the sim of Shinda (<a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/Shinda/187/72/22/?img=http%3A//www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx%3Ffile%3D96667.jpg&title=TELUS%20Store&msg=As%20reviewed%20@%20www.virtualsuburbia.com">view on map</a> | <a href="secondlife://Shinda/187/72/22/">direct teleport</a>). The post said a little about the architecture and a lot about the significance of the first major Canadian corporation, the first major Telco, and the first branded mobile handsets to appear in <a href="http://www.secondlife.com">Second Life</a>.<br /><br />Let us now invert that discussion and talk about one heck of a build.<br /><br />As <a href="http://blog.ipglab.com/?p=35">reiterated</a> over at another blog, I did stumble upon the store. There were a couple of reasons for that. First, the build is sited on the mainland. Its hard to accidentally teleport to an island (not that I haven't done my share of double-clicking the map at random). Second, its scoops up eyeballs like a grizzly bear in a salmon run, attracting attention not for the kind of iconic qualities we've examined in previous posts but rather for its subtly refined shading and prim details that place it in vast contrast to the garish structures that comprise its environs.<br /><br />Lighting and shadow details contribute significantly to the success of the build, and could be easily mistaken for handiwork of SL's resident Master Chef of texture baking, the legendary Aimee Weber - but you would be wrong. This is the work of relative newcomer Scope Cleaver. Arriving with a (seemingly ideal) background in Fine Arts and IT Systems, Scope thus far has only three custom builds under his belt (not to mention a newly launched Prefab business), and you'll be seeing all three of them here in the days to come.<br /><br />Scope describes his work as 'freestyle', riffing off the possibilities for space and form presented by the medium. <a href="http://www.telus.com">TELUS</a> Advertising Manager Sparkle Dale had examples to show him from their flagship stores, but these were simply to reference the look and feel of the brand experience. The actual design of the store was Scope's vision from the ground up.<br /><br />His penchant for I-beams and facades that "cut like a magazine layout" are salient here in a legible structural order of steel, glass and concrete that would feel perhaps a little too monochrome if it were not for his sophisticated use of colour, the familiar purple and green that I see plastered all over the media and malls of my home town. The end result is a playful, airy and gracious single-level space that resonates with the RL brand but also successfully extends it into virtual space, in this case doing so without wild formal gymnastics or flagrant breaches of the laws of physics. Rather the build, like the TELUS effort as a whole, engages simply by trying to understand what it means to be an avatar, and then making an earnest effort to deliver.<br /><br />From the perspective of avatar usability one might deem it somewhat more successful than the recently launched and much ballyhooed American Apparel outlet on the island of Lerappa (<a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/Lerappa/152/63/27/?img=http%3A//www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx%3Ffile%3D96649.jpg&title=American%20Apparel&msg=As%20reviewed%20@%20www.virtualsuburbia.com">view on map</a> | <a href="secondlife://Lerappa/152/63/27/">direct teleport</a>) by the aforementioned Ms. Webber. While the build itself is more prim efficient than the TELUS build, and somewhat less laggy by virtue of not being located next to The Matrix Nightclub, Aimee's trademark texturing brilliance is slightly overshadowed (if you'll pardon the pun) by the somewhat constricted proportions of the plan and the inclusion of a second storey that is accessed via two perceptually narrow and steep staircases. A generous deck on the roof of the first level serves as a landing point for those who wish to go back outside and fly to up rather than negotiate the stairs. The decision to employ a second floor is interesting given that the store is currently sits alone on the sim. That being said, there is much to admire in the design of the American Apparel store, and the effort is deserved of the accolades that it has been given.<br /><br />For the moment let us turn our attention back to the mainland. The TELUS Store is at the time of this writing celebrating its <a href="http://secondlife.com/events/event.php?id=275914&date=1156442400">Grand Opening</a>, including an event in RL for the Telco's non avatar-based employees. Among the swag you'll find free helium balloons that I am disappointed to say cannot be inhaled, so no high octave party in the mouth.<br /><br />Just a feast for the eyes.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-1155360565224263092006-08-11T22:27:00.000-07:002023-07-17T20:45:30.644-07:00ManorMeta Crystalline Home<div>[Images Redacted]</div><!--<a href="http://images18.fotki.com/v330/photos/2/291733/3838108/ISEAgardenopen_001-vi.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="ManorMeta" border="0" src="http://images18.fotki.com/v330/photos/2/291733/3838108/ISEAgardenopen_001-vi.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><a href="http://images14.fotki.com/v20/photos/2/291733/3838108/ISEAmondayopen_013-vi.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="ManorMeta" border="0" src="http://images14.fotki.com/v20/photos/2/291733/3838108/ISEAmondayopen_013-vi.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><a href="http://images14.fotki.com/v20/photos/2/291733/3838108/iseasunrise_001-vi.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="ManorMeta" border="0" src="http://images14.fotki.com/v20/photos/2/291733/3838108/iseasunrise_001-vi.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />--><div><br /></div>The ManorMeta Crystalline Home is currently on display in Brilliant (<a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/Brilliant/47/186/49/?img=http%3A//www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx%3Ffile%3D93359.jpg&title=ManorMeta%20at%20the%20New%20West%20Art%20Show&msg=As%20reviewed%20@%20www.virtualsuburbia.com">view on map</a> | <a href="secondlife://Brilliant/47/186/49/">direct teleport</a>) as a part of the Architecture category in the <a href="http://www.ludica.org.uk/NewWest/">New West Art Exhibition</a>. After picking my jaw up off the floor, my first question was simple: <span style="font-style: italic;">What is it, exactly?<br /><br /></span>The home as entered in the exhibition is a significant embellishment upon a pre-existing 'alpha' build in the Better World Sim that has been documented on <a href="http://www.slpics.com">Snapzilla</a> by Second Life residents Torley Linden (who purports to have entered 'THE KICKASS ZONE') and Tao Takashi (for whom it looked rather strange at first glance). While the build in Better World appears to be somewhat permanent, its mutant cousin on steroids will only be available for viewing in Brilliant until Sunday. Fortunately, it has already been extensively <a href="http://amoration.fotki.com/isea/">photographed</a> by its creators (and to whom credit is owed for the images appearing in this post). That said, the initial question remained: <span style="font-style: italic;">What is it, exactly?</span><br /><br />Some of the more 'pragmatic' details on home can be found <a href="http://www.omidyar.net/user/u704983394/news/43/">here</a>, but luckily I ran into In Kenzo, one of the build's two creators, who was able to fill in some of the gaps. According to Kenzo, ManorMeta is a set for an RL family television/web series in development. With the script for the pilot episode, Kenzo came to Second Life at the beginning of this year with the intention of using it as a production tool to prototype ideas, of which there would appear to be no shortage; in the series "six foster kids come to live in an organic "smart home" with a retired rock and roll diva and hacker scientists." <span style="font-style: italic;">Ok. Makes perfect sense to me. </span><br /><br />The build represents an altogether mind-blowing duality of hard angular spaces interwoven with curvaceous organic elements and iconography to create an architecture of pure imagination that is at once substantial and ephemeral, a shimmering mirage at the edge of the liminal and the subliminal that would seem to suspend within it terabyte upon terabyte of moments, memories, and secrets, perhaps not entirely unlike the imagination of a child.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-1154837130294926892006-08-05T21:05:00.000-07:002023-07-17T20:46:13.336-07:00Butterfly Tiki Bar<div>[Images Redacted]</div><!--<a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/92129.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="Butterfly Tiki Bar" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/92129.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/92132.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="Butterfly Tiki Bar" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/92132.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/92134.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="Butterfly Tiki Bar" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/92134.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />--><div><br /></div>The Butterfly Tiki Bar in the mainland sim of Raiden (<a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/Raiden/85/174/45/?img=http%3A//www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx%3Ffile%3D92130.jpg&title=Butterfly%20Tiki%20Bar&msg=As%20reviewed%20@%20www.virtualsuburbia.com">view on map</a> | <a href="secondlife://Raiden/85/174/45/">direct teleport</a>) is another curiously engaging build that takes full advantage of Second Life's unique combination of references to and departures from the physical world to create both interesting architectural form and intriguing narrative subtext.<br /><br />In somewhat typical Tiki Bar fashion the location occupies only 16 square meters of waterfront; however the compact floorplate multiplies over seven levels, each with its own functional contribution (i.e. dance floor, hot tub). Through these additional levels the build adds to the usual Polynesian experience by incorporating a wide swath of pan-Asian influences such as a Japanese Tea Room located just a few floors up from the bumpin' booty pad. The result is a slim, totemic (dare we say 'torch-like') piece of off-ramp ouevre that wouldn't be out of place in urban centres such as Macau, Manila, or <a href="http://light.bolhe.com/photos/male_maldives.jpg">Malé</a>. In most of these cities the eccentricity of the build would actually be a form of utility, borne out of the need to make the most of what little land might be available.<br /><br />In Second Life, however, it sits without any adjacent neighbours and yet nestles up close to a road bridge running across the waterway. The siting seems to justify and benefit from the verticality of the build, the seemingly intentional choice to address the roadway condition rather than just say, <a href="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d826b3127cce925a4fa7f0f700000016108FZs2rdm1Q">coping with it</a>, makes the build all the more appropriate to the physical attributes of the location. At the same time it takes advantage of the lack of gravity (and the avian abilities of the avatar) to create an unstable, almost provisional quality that establishes a clear dialogue with the virtual.<br /><br />This, combined with the unsavoury goings-on implied on some of the upper levels gives the build a whimsically gritty narrative tension that not only enhances the overall experience but sits in stark contrast to the idyllic setting and technical perfection of the Azure Islands Tiki Bar (<a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/Perseus/152/114/22/?img=http%3A//www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx%3Ffile%3D92458.jpg&title=Azure%20Islands%20Tiki%20Bar&msg=As%20reviewed%20@%20www.virtualsuburbia.com">view on map</a> | <a href="secondlife://Perseus/152/114/22/">direct teleport</a>), for example, where the experience is overwhelmingly pleasant and stress-free, complete with crashing waves and screenings of the popular video podcast <a href="http://www.tikibartv.com/">Tiki Bar TV.</a><br /><br />Both destinations are worth a visit, IMHO, but if the two were pitted against each other in Mortal Kombat, well, you know. <a href="http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f10/raiffmeister/RaidenWins.gif">Raiden Wins</a>.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-1154573150028846262006-08-02T19:26:00.000-07:002006-08-02T20:50:33.743-07:00The Tide Rises...Along with the rapid growth in the popularity of Second Life we have also seen an increase in the profile of architecture as a topic of discussion and discovery, including the newly launched <a href="https://metaversearchitecture.wordpress.com/">Metaverse Architecture</a>, an ambitious effort that comprises one of four fascinating blogs under the <a href="http://metaverseterritories.wordpress.com/">Metaverse Territories</a> banner.<br /><br />The goal of Metaverse Architecture as indicated in its <a href="https://metaversearchitecture.wordpress.com/2006/07/18/intentions-of-metaverse-architecture/">inaugural post</a> is to:<br /><blockquote>take various builds in <a href="http://secondlife.com/">Second Life</a> (SL) as examples to generate, structure and clarify my own thoughts on : a) what it means to have an architectural idea in the metaverse; and, b) how is architectural space fabricated from <a href="http://metaverselanguage.wordpress.com/2006/07/11/immaterial/">(im)materials</a>.<br /></blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">I like it already, but perhaps you already knew that :)</span><br /><br />The <a href="http://metaversearchitecture.wordpress.com/2006/07/18/hipcast/">most recent post</a> examines the Hipcast Conference Centre, <a href="http://virtualsuburbia.blogspot.com/2006/05/hipcastcom-conference-and-expo-center.html">previously featured here</a> back in May. The author, a self-described "architect cloaked as an artist and teacher" provides the type of elevated, insightful and rigourous analysis that we look forward to devouring on a regular basis.<br /><br />Virtual Suburbia extends a warm welcome to our new neighbours on SL's architectural beat.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-1153275603572990972006-07-18T19:19:00.000-07:002023-07-17T20:48:46.539-07:00Little House on the Sandbox<div>[Images Redacted]</div><div><br /></div>The House on Swan Pond is the kind of build in SL that could be easily overlooked. At first glance, it seems to be a competent albeit somewhat ubiquitous example of SL structures reflecting architectural values of Real Life, yet appearing to miss the opportunities afforded by virtual space to escape the constraints posed by physics, climate, and finance.<br /><br />Keep looking. Things are not as they appear.<br /><br />The House on Swan Pond exists as an analogue to a RL structure for a good reason - it is a real house being designed for a real family. The author, Keystone Bouchard, makes a living as a <a href="http://www.crescendodesign.com/">residential designer</a> specializing in energy efficient 'green' houses and within a week of rezzing in SL had attained sufficient skill with the building tools to mock up the structure in order to collaborate with his clients - to better visualize the design, establish a dialogue about the design, and capture the imagination in a way that is not possible utilizing typical drawings, still renderings, or other burgeoning (not to mention outrageously expensive and/or cumbersome) realtime tools. The family can literally occupy the house, get a feel for the spaces, and suggest changes based on their first-person evaluation. A Second Life dream representing a Real Life artifact, instead of the other way around.<br /><br />The SL incarnation of the house lacks some of the detail suggested by a more typical architectural rendering pictured above (provided courtesy of Crescendo Design). Textures apparent in the rendering give way to pure surfaces and/or default plywood (at the time of this writing, anyway). As well, small gaps in the construction are visble, and the build seems to be constructed with an abundance of prims that may make it unsuitable for some plots of land. That's not to say that the house does not have the potential to become a viable prefab given some technical optimization or that Keystone has no aspirations to sell prefabs or help build communities in SL, but again, in the case of this build these issues are of lesser relevance, as one could suggest the House on Swan Pond as it exists within SL at this moment is not so much a work of virtual architecture as it is another form of architectural representation.<br /><br />When considered in this light it is not uncommon to carefully consider which medium is most appropriate to the design process at any given time, and the degree to which abstraction is a means to make a stronger connection with a client, such that they may be able to invest themselves and infer into the possibilities of the architecture as it continues in its development, filling in the blanks and completing the experience, not entirely unlike how the simple blips and bleeps of the Atari 2600 swept me away as a youngster to entirely different worlds - jungles, oceans, or outer space, all with the same basic set of chunky 'primitives,' if you will.<br /><br />So while SL for its technical limitations is still a long way from the Virtual Reality envisioned by scientists, novelists, and Hollywood art directors, one might suggest that it represents a powerful space for architecture that engages the imagination rather than simply reflecting it. And yet it seems somewhat fitting that the clients of the House On Swan Pond were greeted at the front door by a completely nude avatar that was leaving nothing to the imagination, if you get my drift. Just another day in the sandbox, unlike any other, hard to overlook.Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15671281.post-1151381175224761952006-06-26T21:05:00.000-07:002023-07-17T20:49:40.250-07:00Failte go d'ti Dublin<div><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: normal;">[Images Redacted]</span></span></div><!--<a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/78659.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="Dublin" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/78659.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/78649.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="Dublin" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/78649.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><a href="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/78652.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="Dublin" border="0" src="http://www.sluniverse.com/snapshots/78652.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 5px 5px 0pt; width: 121px;" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />--><span style="font-style: italic;"><div><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div>Update: A number of readers have pointed out a critical omission that must be corrected. During our discussion Ham and Boliver graciously credited Shukran Fahid as the sim's main builder, and mentioned that he was flown to Dublin to gather reference material for the build. My apologies for not mentioning Shukran's substantial contribution in the original post.<br /></span><br />It's not often that one receives a personal tour of one of the world's great cities from none other than the mayor of the city itself. Indeed it felt a little like that as Mayor Ham Rambler and Chief Project Manager Boliver Oddfellow led me through a virtually reconstructed section of central Dublin (<a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dublin/95/2/?img=http%3A//www.sluniverse.com/pics/MakeThumbnail.aspx%3Ffile%3D78659.jpg&title=Dublin&msg=As%20reviewed%20@%20www.virtualsuburbia.com">view on map</a> | <a href="secondlife://Dublin/95/2/">direct teleport</a>), with each stop along the tour highlighting areas of civic and historical significance while providing another example of RL culture reflected in digital space.<br /><br />It would appear that certain notions of urban design translate well from the human scale to that of the human scaled avatar, namely the sense of the city as an outdoor living room and as an extension of the domicile. The streets indeed become the most comfortable and successful parts of the build, while the shops (a mix of actual Dublin landmarks and SL resident franchises) feel less inviting given the relatively compressed amount of space for camera maneuverability. On the other hand, the impact of St. Stephens Green (Dublin's equivalent of Central Park, according to Ham) is also to be felt in relation to the streets, only from the obverse condition. While it almost feels a little too open, it also yields one of the sim's most intimate and profound moments, a recreation of the Edwin Delaney's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Delaney">Famine Memorial</a> statue.<br /><br />Ham reports that a few liberties were taken with the design, namely the relocation of the nearby but outlying Guinness Brewery to within the sim boundaries, given its importance as a cultural icon and exemplifying the potential fusion of place making and corporate sponsorship as a business model in the post-dwell era.<br /><br />On the other hand, Ham has not strayed from controversy in the quest for realism. The <a href="http://www.irelandposters.com/dublin/dublin_city_spire_pictures.html">Millennium Spire</a> (unofficially dubbed 'The Spike,' or 'Bertie's Pole' in honor of Ham's RL counterpart who commissioned it) is a gleaming slender vertical needle standing 120m high, functioning less like an obelisk as a traditional organizing element, more like a javelin hurled by angry gods of antiquity. According to Ham a majority of RL Dubliners view it in a negative light.<br /><br />In addition to serving as a really nifty vantage point (given the opportunity to ride it to the top with draw distance cranked way up), the spire and more importantly the decision not to edit it out provide a conceptual focal point for not only the sim but also the spectrum of potential that exists in Second Life between experiences of the familiar and the surreal. Ham has clearly sided with the familiar, even if that includes 'foreign' elements.<br /><br />I completely respect this position, and yet as one begins to swing the camera around something even more compelling happens. The illusion starts to break down, and the sim upon closer scrutiny begins to feel reminiscent of a machinima set, the edges giving way to some very compelling residual spatial conditions given that the layout (again for the sake of 'authenticity') has been cranked relative to the standard north-south orientation of the island upon which it finds itself situated.<br /><br />All of the interpreted 'placard' moments, all of the very real and collective efforts of Dublin's RL builders and founders are actually enhanced when the virtual version of it suddenly also becomes equally surreal, of the moment, and intensely personal. A living city in a virtual world, but perhaps more importantly, a <a href="http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=james+joyce&btnG=Google+Search&meta=">portal of discovery</a>.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>Chip Poutinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760396785803249203noreply@blogger.com10