State of play: building

I was woundering if any one else has taken a peek at state of play's desicustion on building. If so what did you think of it? The archived video can be found here: http://www.nyls.edu/snipplets/441.asp?url=mms://wm.eastbaymedia-c2.speedera.net/wm.eastbaymedia-c2/eb2/10.8.05-4clip.wmv

If you're talking about the architecture discussion, I think it can be summed up as such:

1) the panel members think we all build too conservatively.

2) The panel members also think we tend to recreate the mundane rather than the extraordinairy.

3) The SL community tends to romanticize previous architectural movements (castles, greek columns, etc), without really building with SL in mind.

Basically it's a bunch of architectural folks scratching their heads and thinking how 60,000 people building their own houses is "quaint".

LF

Speaking of extraordinary buildings...

Are any builders interested in making cool "ancient" city type structures like Egyptian or Roman. ( Think of what structures like this have done for Las Vegas! Casinos! Shows! Amusements! all with a cool cultural playground motif! )

Here are links to pictures taken in-game from an Egyptian city-building game. Can SL builder guys 'n' gals make anything like these for us SL consumers to play in, buy, etc.?

Extraordinary Buildings 1...
. A Pharaoh's Palace
. An Egyptian Courtyard
. Pyramid Complex Overview


A Pharaoh's Palace


An Egyptian Courtyard


Pyramid Complex Overview

A Luxoresque. In SL.

OMG Yes... and I FORGOT the CLOTHES, MAKEUP, AND SKIN DESIGNER CONCESSIONS!

* dark dusky skins... deep exotic eyes... belly dancers dancing... husky laborers laboring... *

LET'S HIT THIS JOINT UP!

Egyptian stylee? Ask Aura Lily, she is a specialist in this type of thing.

Proof!



Where to find this inworld?

Chat: Torley, yes, this is the ticket! Now we need a Pharaoh's Palace to put 10 more like it in!

IM: Anubis, you sly dog, I see you there in the middle of that room! No!... Bad Anubis! Put your leg DOWN!

Chat: Torley,another concession idea, three words: Owenimated belly dancing!

* wonders if anybody is really named Anubis in sl?... or has an avatar like... never mind... *

Chat: Have brainstorm headache... back soon... (grin)

WANT FREE BELLY DANCES?

Seagel Neville made a nice pack.

I'll send 'em your way, just IM me inworld, you or anyone who wants 'em!

At the risk of steering this back to the original question.... I posted my thoughts on the SOP Architecture Panel, though I should warn you they're a little catty.

Back to current thread: Mmmmmm.... Belly Dances.....

Listening to them talk, it became apparent that their focus was not the medium; but the production of what they called "public space".

They're conversation on modernism; begs the question what is modern. To me their modernism reflect the need of the physical world. In the physical world organic shapes is a rarity in building design. Where shapes and forms have a natural texture and color. People cannot fly, temporary visual and physical privacy is easy, and the need of mankind reflect the environment in witchy they live.

Building in SecondLife has alternative needs. There are no need for an avatar to eat. Floating an object is easy, basic shapes make and create and define how we interpret the space. The use of the camera. The limited prims.

Some of the techniques used in the medium of SecondLife have a direct reflection to earlier building techniques used in the physical world. The Greek built in stone, and thus were limited by the choice of building materials. The romans improved a pone the construction practices of the Greek through the use of mortar. Which gave way to brick laying. But they chose to still put the faces of greek buildings. Much like how earlier western frontier towns painted elaborate fronts on their shops.

Even though the construction techniques of the Greek may not be as modern as the roman. They had created a great sense of space and style; witch is timeless and was greater then the the original construction techniques that influenced them.

But by coping the Greeks the romans learned a greater understand of space and style. Faces is still a common element of modern construction. Witch is why it should be no surprise that they would become a modern element in SecondLife desgin.

I think they made a great point when they observed that players of secondlife experiences the space inside the game while still experiencing the space of the physical world around them.

I think that the idea of public space is quite relevant in SecondLife. Even if it probable wasn't the appropriate value to judge building construction. How do we construct space that will be used and that will attract visitors. It's been an observation that malls have a short life span as their novelty wears off. (Except when they are located in high traffic areas) I think that question applies not just malls, but also to every thing built in secondlife.

I think the core problem here is the lack of understanding of the underlying technological background that goes into builds in SL. Things like prim limits, telehub distance, tier burn, viewer limitations and controls are all very real effects on SL builds. With few exceptions, builds in SL are about fulfilling a particular purpose in the most effecient and effective way possible. The result is that the majority of builds in SL are large cubic structures with a minimum of detail, or else outdoor spaces with a moderate level of detailing. Things like rez-lag, limited bandwidth, odd camera control, and the fact that a majority of residents I've met have a computer or connection that does not meet minimum specifications generally means that most successful public space builds are the kind that can be interacted by a stumbling drunk.

Every build has some particular purpose, and the ones that don't succeed in fulfilling their purpose usually get torn down at the end of the month. It just costs too much to do otherwise in most cases. This leads to the other factor that influences builds, the risk factor. Imitating and adapting a sucessful build to your own purposes carries percived risk, and indirectly leads to a lower level of innovation.

This is extremely useful info for a non-builder still interested in building design. Thank you!

I'll post more at my blog, but suffice to say - most of the panelists didn't 'get it'. One couldn't even remember the name of the virtual world he was visiting properly, for chrissakes. "Second World" indeed. The judging wasn't conducted with a full understanding of the environments the builds themselves were created in, that much was obvious to me.

More later.

I'm glad a SL build won, but really - only one panelist truely seemed to have a clue.

Just a note to say I've updated my blog regarding the State of Play 3 Architecture Panel.

maxx, i liked your blog post. I am skeptical that you are ever going to get the word "grounded" when you have a panel of artsy academics, but we shall see what future SOPs bring.

In the meantime, SL will continue on its merry way oblivious to the chirping of critics, with a rich tapestry of architectural efforts from the mere beginner to highly advanced, from those captivated by history to those imagining a bold future.

It's important to note that most ideas do not egoist in a vacuum. They are based on earlier concepts. Even if those scores are unknown to the interpreter.

Who would be the ideal judge? Would it be a peer? A real life architect, who can comment on historical designs in references to the concepts of architecture? An interior designer? Perhaps a landscape specialists for parks & gardens? What about profestional 3D artists who work in programs such as maya and auto cad.

It's important to note that most ideas do not egoist in a vacuum. They are based on earlier concepts. Even if those scores are unknown to the interpreter.

Who would be the ideal judge? Would it be a peer? A real life architect, who can comment on historical designs in references to the concepts of architecture? An interior designer? Perhaps a landscape specialists for parks & gardens? What about professional 3D artists who work in programs such as maya and auto cad.

Personally I am intrigued by the response of outsiders; most actives are experienced by people in and out of the community.

The panelists had interesting if not characteristically esoteric things to say but what they seemed to miss, especially as it relates to the idea of conservatism, is that SL is but one manifestation of digital space, where builders are responding in large part to a pre-existing site condition, be it sand, snow, island, or city. The representative nature of each sim, rooted in RL notions of landscape, suggests a certain degree of contextual response. For many architects the notion of creating a building as a unique response to its site and immediate physical circumstance is a primary consideration.

Where it gets interesting is when architecture, both real and virtual, acknowledges and respects the logic inherent in its context enough that significant impact is made through the act of bending and or breaking it.