A most extraordinary building in Second Life

Among other things, you might say that Scope Cleaver's newest building looks like a rainbow colored Chambered Nautilus, or a prized Wurlitzer jukebox. You might remark on its open roof, or how it throws off light beams. But it is a foregone conclusion that you will not say that you have ever seen any other building like it before. In any life. Fact is, if you want to acquaint yourself with typical architecture in Second Life®, do not teleport here.


Princeton commissioned the creation of this pixelated building, which it subsequently named Diversity

I met with Scope in March to see how the building was progressing, and then followed that up with an interview this weekend.

This is so very different for you!
Scope Cleaver: Yes, the materials are pretty different... lots of adobe, woods and brass. A combination I haven't used before in Second Life. The goal was to create a building that would be environmentally friendly in Real Life, so I introduced wind turbines and the use of energy-conscious materials.

Well, we can set examples in-world for off-world construction. Have you ever seen a structure that combines these materials?
Scope Cleaver: Not in the same mix, no. I've seen wood and adobe together before, of course, but not with brass and colored glass. Maybe this has been done in the steampunk sims, though I don't know. First time I dare use so much color.



Tell me about the evolution of your thought process regarding design.
Scope Cleaver: I started designing in Second Life as a way to see where the tools would bring me and learn about its limitations, and more importantly how those limitations and constraints could help me find a new perspective and ways of expression.

I think a defining trait in my thinking about design in Second Life is to take it seriously as an object of study and research. There is a complex web of variables that inspires design in the study of culture, how avatars interact, the economy, people's sense of space and privacy, language (because yes, that too is evolving in it's own way), technology, meaning and values. I believe (that) trying to be sensitive to it all - on a global scale - helps shape how I would like to evolve with architecture in Second Life.


Hmmm, though the terraforming by Poid Mahovlich is overrated

Your work is becoming more NPIRL (Not Possible in Real Life) all the time. Did NPIRL have any influence on you in this regard?
Scope Cleaver: I don't really have imperatives before making a design on whether it should be possible or translate in Real Life or not. I am not sure it's the right way to compare things for many reasons, one of which is, it isn't clear in our still incomplete physics what is and isn't possible in Real Life.

What if we find in 20 years that X is indeed possible in Real Life after all? Should it change the value of a piece in Second Life? Also, in Second Life, I may have seen buildings that defy the law of gravity, but I have yet to see any that defy the laws of logic. So what does it mean exactly to be impossible IRL? And what does it teach us about RL/SL? If we really put our minds to it, could we come up with something we thought was impossible, yet manage to make it in Real Life? Where there is no doubt, is that Second Life does reveal to me new possibilities on a daily basis. In this sense, many inspiring creators in the group have left me in constant amazement.


Artist and architect Santiago Calatrava's planned "Obelisco" for Madrid would certainly add strength to Scope's argument

What were your biggest challenges in creating this building and how did you go about tackling them?
Scope Cleaver: Well, I'll attempt to gracefully avoid talking about prim management... But one interesting challenge was to figure out how I would bring together elements which are usually seen together in a different aesthetic repertoire. I am talking here about materials, colors and the general tone of the building. I used simple trial and error methods and experimented with many different iterations, until I was happy with it. There was a bit of wrestling with myself, and some exploring and learning was in order, since this departs from my usual style. It's never easy to face the unknown.

What are your plans for the future?
Scope Cleaver: I have a few smaller artistic projects along with a custom residence on my plate for the immediate future. For the long term, I plan to live long enough to witness a revolution in how we think about designs as sentient entities; more on that in a few years...

What would you like to be doing that you have not had the opportunity to do yet?
Scope Cleaver: I have been very lucky to get plenty of opportunities from clients to realize things with very few constraints. I guess one thing I would like is design a space for a think tank or research center focused on the future of virtual worlds and artificial intelligence.



What are a couple of the biggest differences between designing for Real Life and Second Life...
Scope Cleaver: There is the obvious, like deterioration, the likelihood of a civil lawsuit and the order of magnitude involved in the program and timetables, and plenty of details about manufacturing processes and the cost involved in items that are designed for mass production. If you strip to the essentials though, I tend to notice there are more similarities than differences.

Which creators in Second Life inspire you and why?
Scope Cleaver: There are way too many to list. I have the utmost admiration and get inspiration from Seifert Surface for his expertise and wise words: "sometimes magic doesn't work." We share a passion for mathematics and art. Keystone Bouchard, for his constantly evolving insights about architecture, interactivity and collaboration.

Lately, from AldoManutio Abruzzo whose music inspires elegance and expanses of space. Lem Skall, for his amazing photography and sense of composition... a true Second Life explorer. DB Bailey, for his ability to carve space and make abstractions tangible. Patch Thibaud for his efficiency and the ease in implementing a design. The people who come to see me build, for their gems of comments and quirks, and many others...



One of the differences between Real Life architecture and Second Life architecture is that it is so much easier to sell virtual duplicates of a work, much like lithographs or prints. This places Second Life architecture in a saleabilty category that is similar to commercial art in Real Life. Do you agree?
Scope Cleaver: I see this as a fact so it's difficult to disagree with it. I do both. I have some of my buildings for sale and others I do custom, although my work is mostly custom. I think there is a future for both. Putting aside the philosophical issue of the value of the many versus the unique, there certainly is a demand for both. The reason I prefer custom is because it feels much more personal, and you get to interact on the creative level with the client throughout the project. That said, it would make more business sense to focus entirely on selling duplicates, which in Second Life we call "prefabs".

See also: Scope Cleaver's winged superstructure

The safety of spaces

He has challenged our idea of place since the beginning with the Far Away... a field of wheat, grey skies, a rusty old train, a table... but in our pixelated reality it is a comforting riddle that has gripped the imagination of tens of thousands of its visitors. Now, AM Radio, degreed in Fine Arts and living in the Chicago area, has unveiled two new installations: Husk, on a sim sponsored by the New Media Consortium, and The Quiet, sponsored by Princeton University. It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to his new Machinima featuring - and weaving together - all three places, with music by Torley Linden.



I learned today that AM seeks to inspire viewers to create and define their own narratives of experience as evidenced within the Flickr groups (see below) that are dedicated to each of the installations.

He shared the following quote with me from John A. Jalke's "The Visual Elements of Landscape":

A view, as a complex set of objects (a kind of place itself), can be categorized to basic components. These components include: (1) extent of view or the distance over which sight is effective; (2) foreground-middleground-background discontinuities or the existence of multiple horizons; (3) enframement by which the sight is bounded; (4) focal points that serve as attention getters; and (5) sense of security implicit in focal points that imply refuge. Effective views contain prospects that enable viewers to survey considerable distances over several successive horizons.

AM Radio: At once, you can read these ideas to mean that safe havens are, in fact, tactical positions, or more simply, great hiding places. Refuge implies safety. The way in which a place can imply safety is via its tactical position in a landscape. Comfort can be specifically constructed into a new unfamiliar space via it's ability to supply a visual advantage. The visual advantage allows the user to remain in a place while monitoring all entry points, as well as to plan an escape should the refuge fail. The design of the space should also imply the possible exploration of further, unseen spaces.

AM's work seeks to show that ideas of landscape and tourism are as pervasive in 3d virtual spaces as they are in real life. By creating a framework of traditional, and recognizable experiences based in realism, the artist can begin to manipulate the rules our souls would wish to prohibit. Rules such as gravity.

AM Radio: Realism in virtual spaces declares a universal language, upon which abstractions can be created. By transporting the user into a safe place by using rich visuals steeped in nostalgia and familiarity, these spaces calm the user into accepting what would seem to be impossible and dreamlike situations. The viewer is then free to form ideas and to make emotional associations upon the implied meanings of objects and symbols within the sims, rather than wondering if and how they should. The viewer subsequently and confidently shares those ideas and emotions with their fellow virtual travelers via images, dialog and stories.

Flickr groups about these three installations:
The Far Away (teleport directly from here)
The Quiet (teleport directly from here)
Husk (teleport directly from here)

DynaFleur - the dynamics of group collaboration that flies

Once in a very rare while, about as often as a blue moon occurs, a group of people who are all completely different from each other, but unexplainably compatible, come together to work on a project that becomes much, much greater than the sum of its parts. Sparks fly. One thing builds on another and then another... and you just know that whatever they do is gonna be sweet.

From left to right: Douglas Story, Persis Trilling, Desdemona Enfield, Poid Mahovlich, Dizzy Banjo

That appears to be what happened when Douglas Story assembled his crew of unruly, hilarious, hard-working and ultimately gifted collaborators to create something quite odd, quite beautiful and quite Not Possible IRL: the DynaFleur.

Douglas Story and Desdemona Enflield, who once gave us the FlowerBall, have teamed up with Poid Mahovlich (terraforming) and Dizzy Banjo (music and sound) to create DynaFleur, a kaleidoscopic, sim-wide, kinetic installation that plays on Douglas' photographic take on flowers. Teleport directly from here.


Dyna Fleur from Kitty Lalonde on Vimeo.

I took on this lot of delightful Residents of Second Life to learn more.



Bettina Tizzy: Douglas: What's the chemistry of the team you've assembled here and how is it different from previous efforts you've undertaken?
Douglas Story: This was a larger group - and a more expansive project (than the FlowerBall). Everyone here is so skilled at what they do, and they all (you'll forgive the phrase) 'get it,' right from the get-go. I just get out of the way and let them do.
Bettina Tizzy: But why did you pick each of them?
Douglas Story: Good looks. Purely. I mean....just look at 'em! Dizzy's a little bit homely, but still.


Douglas Story

Bettina Tizzy: Were you always this fond of Real Life flowers?
Douglas Story: It started when I acquired a digital camera a few years back after many years away from photography. Reading the instructions, I noted that it would focus as close as 3/4". I took it out, and stuck the lens into one of my neighbor's roses.
Desdemona Enfield giggles.
Douglas Story: Voila! Amazing beauty... and I was off. The Xmas gift I sent to my friends, was a stargazer blossom given to me by a friend whose niece is a ballerina.

Bettina Tizzy: Desde: How did this experience vary from the FlowerBall project and what is new and different to Second Life with this work?
Desdemona Enfield: This involves motions, the use of Keystone's (Bouchard) idea.
Douglas Story: Yes, we were riffing off that.


Desdemona Enfield, photographed by Poid Mahovlich

Desdemona Enfield: This also involves hundreds of interacting scripts instead of tens. One of the main issues has been administrative.
Bettina Tizzy: How so?
Douglas Story: Testify, Sister Des
Desdemona Enfield: Central control, update procedures, version control... the dull stuff. What if we get it all installed and then someone reminds me "duh. sound!"? Ok, I need to upgrade 400+ scripts. There are simple ways to do this.. but the catch is to make it simple to do. Technically it is like any updater.
Douglas Story: I originally envisioned a veritable field of cilia... the entire back half of the sphere, (what Dizzy named 'The Void'), covered in the pink cilia. But we found that with too many cilia, the motion was not as wiggly and nice as it was, in Des' lab.


The cilia! They make a fluttering, then sucking noise as you pass through them. Photograph by Poid Mahovlich

Bettina Tizzy: Poid: I had no idea that you were also a terraformer! What are the main challenges and do you have a tip or two you'd like to share with us on how to approach terraforming?
Poid Mahovlich: I like to terra by hand and use no 3D tools, so all is created in-game. Douglas gave clear conceptual guidelines via maps and a 3D mock up. I filled in the blanks and we worked together on what he envisaged. As for tips, don't eats hot dogs at the same time as terraforming :)


Self portrait by Poid Mahovlich



Douglas Story: I showed Persis my draftsmanship, and was advised not to quit my day job.
Persis Trilling: That drawing was nowhere near as nice as the mock-up.



Poid Mahovlich: The main challenge was to get the scale in place.
Douglas Story: Poid's landscape contributed so much. Her ideas were crucial.
Dizzy Banjo: Yeh, we did little models of the sound design, too.
Bettina Tizzy: Poid... you've also taken an active role in marketing this, and evidently to much success. How do you think that is going?
Poid Mahovlich: Extremely well - and better than I had anticipated - I am a bit taken aback by the fast momentum of it all! The collective response has been comprehensive and the feedback outstanding.*

Bettina Tizzy: Dizzy, what was the first thought that entered your mind - from a music/sound standpoint, when you first saw the DynaFleur? Did you take one look and think... dang... that brings such and such a song to mind... or?
Dizzy Banjo: Initially I thought it would be more musical (the actual sounds made by the objects), but as I was writing, making the sounds... they became more and and more sound design oriented, and about portraying a certain type of characteristic. For this end, it felt right to make a mechanical technological sounding "cloud of sound."
Desdemona Enfield: Molecular bonds and thermal vibrations.


Dizzy Banjo, photographed by Poid Mahovlich

Dizzy Banjo: The other end of the installation is organic.. and that was all about creating a sensation of the sensual, but the music is really trying to communicate the strange and intoxicating beauty of the exhibit and also Doug's photography.. these giant bizarre flowers.. with a great beauty but an almost menacing or "unknown" presence at this scale.
Douglas Story: I was thrilled with what he came up with - all his observations were dead on.
Dizzy Banjo: Musically something else has happened, which I'm not sure I understand entirely yet myself.
Douglas Story: Des and Dizzy (sounds like a comedy act) got together and bounced ideas off each other.
Desdemona Enfield: I tell jokes, Dizzy laughs.
Douglas Story: As usual, Des is the catalyst that spurs new thoughts - and adding her own.
Desdemona Enfield: Dizzy wanted sounds in the void that were random yet not random: they should seem random... but actually be deterministic so that they do not overlap. I used standard prime number and modular arithmetic to create the sequences, in the same way that encryptyed messages seem random, but are not.
Dizzy Banjo: This system.. is actually really fascinating, but plays such a passive subtle role. I think it has great potential in future projects.
Bettina Tizzy: What is your background in scripting, Desde?
Desdemona Enfield: Other than a life of melodrama? I have done programming from time to time. C Java, graphics, communication... but I only admit this when I am brunette.
Bettina Tizzy: And when you are a redhead, Desde?
Desdemona Enfield: Does not waste time scripting, (smiles).
Douglas Story: I've forbidden red hair on this crew.
Desdemona Enfield pouts.
Douglas Story: I have a weakness for redheads, and can't afford the distraction.


Photograph by Dizzy Banjo

Bettina Tizzy: Persis... have you lost your mind? Or better yet, how do you keep sane working with this crew?
Persis Trilling: I've stayed out of it for the most part, as what was going on here was so exciting. Look at our visitor logs.
Douglas Story: (smile)
Persis Trilling: Traffic lately has been healthy, and momentum is building. I'm pleased with the tight integration, particularly between the landscape and the built elements. My ideas about architecture have been evolving since I first started. I started with the idea of a real landscaper, relatively flat. A project like this has the complexity of a place like Falling Water, and Falling Water does not have a great soundtrack.
Douglas Story swoons at the comparison
Desdemona Enfield: (Thinks falling water makes a big splash)
Dizzy Banjo wouldn't mind soundtracking some Frank Lloyd Wright...
Persis Trilling: On the main campus, it was important to establish an institutional identity. On the Alexander Beach sim, I learned how wonderful it could be to have an integrated composition. This is the next step in that thought process.

Bettina Tizzy: What are the most fun comments you've all received about the DynaFleur?
Douglas Story: A favorite from Fleep Tuque: "I don't know if I'm awed or creeped out." That after passing through the cilia... The disgusting comments I get about the images here.....I just don't understand. All manner of comparisons to other things.


DynaFleur by Poid Mahovlich

Bettina Tizzy: The hawaiian upholstered furniture...? (Said furniture was later replaced with black leather couches and chairs, after a bit of inside jousting).
Poid Mahovlich: I don't want my face or image anywhere near this couch, thanx ever so.
Douglas Story: I took a photo of a shirt I have...
Dizzy Banjo: Now that should have stayed.
Poid Mahovlich: We burnt it
Dizzy Banjo: In fact, I want it.
Desdemona Enfield: Ah, the furniture management crisis.
Douglas Story: Some people of vision and good taste liked this furniture.
Persis Trilling: Others said it was . . . well
Poid Mahovlich: *blinks



Bettina Tizzy: The name...?
Douglas Story: I was expressly forbidden by the management to use the word "Thingy" in the title of this. There's a strong anti-"thingy" lobby, allied with the anti-Hawaiian shirt lobby.
Douglas called his last art installation, the FlowerBall, an "interactive art thingy"
Persis Trilling sniffs
Desdemona Enfield: Oh, I was not referring to the DF, Doug, (smiles).
Douglas Story: "DynaFleur" was concocted by Miss Enfield here
Poid Mahovlich: I liked the carwash name :)
Douglas Story: haha... Cosmic Carwash

The opening reception with the artists took place today, followed by ballroom dancing with music and DJing provided by the proprietor of the Blue Note Jazz Club, Naydee McGettigan.

Artist Information

Douglas Story creates his extreme macro photography with a 5 megapixel digital camera in and around Los Angeles. Douglas has displayed his work in group shows in Los Angeles, and in Second Life at the Aho Museum, the Angel Dorei Gallery and the Artisan Gallery. To earn money to buy new shoes in Second Life, Douglas produces and edits promos for network television.

A Second Life resident since 2005, Desdemona Enfield, in her more serious moments, studies the Zen of Scripting and occasionally dabbles in building. She's highly verbal and will scroll everyone off the screen when given an opportunity. In real life, the daydream that comes closest to her vocation would include a checkered history in computer graphics, medical imaging, data protocols, and embedded systems, plus a tad of physics and mathematics.

Dizzy Banjo is a composer exploring new methods of soundtracking virtual environments. He is experienced in providing music for more traditional media outlets, such as radio, trailers, advertising and video games ( for clients such as Czech National Radio, Boosey & Hawkes, Revlon, and Sony Playstation.) However more recently he is concentrating on developing the possibilities of non linear composition and multiple user interactive music. He is currently working on a number of projects in this field including soundtracks for the in-world presence of the country of Mexico, a book on Second Life published by Intersection Unlimited and a major virtual business event.

Poid Mahovlich says, "I build creatively using smoke and mirrors. I am a geek dreamer; driven by ethereal fuel some days, nerdtech and biscuits on others. I am a Real Life professional conceptual Artist: a self-proclaimed Wizard who has a severe allergy to Hawaiian shirts."
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Music in Second Life: A meditation in the hands of AldoManutio Abruzzo

Musician AldoManutio Abruzzo disagrees with me when I say that listening to music in Second Life is Not Possible in Real Life. Aldo, sowwwy, but when was the last time you were able to listen to (and be present at) a live music concert, while simultaneously holding one or more conversations with near and distant friends (in Real Life and/or at some far away point on the grid), without disturbing other listeners or the performer? I rest my case. :D

Fact is, I've been happily surprised with my own experience of music in Second Life. Not only have I discovered a number of new-to-me recorded talents via some wickedly good DJs, including thomTrance OToole and Alec Paragon, but I've also been introduced to several really superb artists through their live, streamed performances.

Granted, and this must be said... I love the thrill of zipping around in my RL car - way too fast, according to the California Highway Patrol which has ticketed me and sent me off to driving school for more than a couple pedal-to-the-metal infractions - while listening to my fave tracks at an exhilirating volume. Please don't hate me for this! I do keep my windows rolled up so as not to inflict my musical tastes on others.

But there is another kind of music that slows your heart rate, calms the mind, and leaves you refreshed. That would be the music of AldoManutio Abruzzo. Listening to his work is not unlike standing at the end of the beach after a storm, looking out over the ocean and wondering about the great questions of life.

Not too long ago I was one of the fortunate people who were present for AldoManutio's well-attended live performance to commemorate the inauguration of Princeton's new Alexander Beach sim - built by our very own Scope Cleaver . It wasn't the first time I've attended AldoManutio's concerts, and it certainly won't be my last, but something about this last one left me in such a peaceful and mellow state that I might as well have spent the hour in a yoga class.



But getting back to whether AldoManutio's music is NPIRL or not. If it isn't, then why is he so often the choice collaborator for some of the most admired content creators of things that are Not Possible in Real Life, weaving his soundscapes through their works with an aural needle and thread? I asked Aldo this and more.

Bettina Tizzy: Please describe your music, Aldo.

AldoManutio Abruzzo: I improvise my music on the spot. I don't really "hear" the music so much as strive to "listen" to it as I am playing. It isn't until after the fact - during editing - that I truly get to hear what happened during those moments of playing... a touch of Fripp here, a dash of Shankar there, followed by a little Rachmaninoff; or I might throw in an American folk spiritual.

I don't use pre-recorded loops or sequenced synthesized passages in my live performances. My live performances are just that: spontaneous compositions being created on the fly at that moment. I do sometimes improvise upon recognizable themes (Douglas Story was recently shocked to hear me doing variations upon "Greensleeves" but it is, in fact, a venerable lute song and numerous variations have been written .. .I just happened to do some new ones that night.). This is why I try to always record every performance ... I operate from the assumption that people have come to hear music they have never heard before and, unless I record it, will never hear again.

Bettina Tizzy: What was your musical training?

AldoManutio Abruzzo: I began musical studies on the trombone and studying classical guitar in high school. I taught myself to read lute tablature and, as an undergraduate at the University of Texas, began performing Renaissance and Baroque lute music on an original instrument with the Madrigal Singers (under the direction of Morris Beachy) and the Collegium Musicum. I also performed privately with a group of friends. My lute studies culminated with a Master Class with lutenist Paul O'Dette.

Upon hearing "Another Green World" and "Music for Airports" in the 1980's, I was strongly influenced by the work of both Brian Eno and Robert Fripp, but didn't make the move fully into electronic music until the mid-90's when I started working with computer-based synthesis projects. With the development of more affordable looping devices, I began to utilize looping techniques - especially in live performance situations - to develop the layered textured music that I perform here in SL. The Ebow was added to the tools that I use in 2004.


According to Douglas Story who collaborated with Aldo on the FlowerBall installation: "His music is ethereal, complex, otherworldly, deeply layered, and fascinating. He's up there in the Robert Fripp league... no kidding. However, he refuses to take requests at his concerts. I keep yelling for Smoke On The Water and Freebird, and he never plays either." Teleport directly from here

Bettina Tizzy: Where might people hear your music?

AldoManutio Abruzzo: The main installations that have been deemed as "permanent" are located on the Princeton University sim: Douglas Story and Desdemona Enfield's "Flowerball,", the soundscape that is playing inside of Scope Cleaver's maginificent "Alexander Beach" build and the adjacent sculpture created by Juria Yoshikawa. All three soundscapes are more or less permanently available for listening. The previous installations done with Juria were designed to have a limited presence, but the music from those installations is available either by direct, free download from one of my websites or from the SECONDTune vendors. Almost all of my music is available in one form or another, one world or another.


Photograph of Alexander Beach by Harper Beresford

Moreover, people might hear my music almost anywhere... they have found my webstream and have been playing it on their properties. Not much I can do (or want to do) about it. There are some SECONDTunes vendor-kiosks scattered about that are selling MP3s of my performances from Second Life, so people can always grab one of those for a few hundred Lindens and listen anytime. Additionally, my music is available on the Cruxy players that can be used in-world. As a "performer", my music is normally heard in venues, but as of 1 November 2007, I am not scheduling any further "regular" performances in the clubs or venues. I will still be performing in Second Life, but they will be very specific, special appearances.


I find it interesting that several of the artists who have created the most lauded and very Not Possible IRL installations in Second Life, such as this marvel by Juria Yoshikawa found at the Princeton sim, have turned to AldoManutio to incorporate his soundscapes, especially when you consider that he often uses the sounds of nature, such as waves, or thunder.

Bettina Tizzy: Whom would you like to collaborate with?

AldoManutio Abruzzo: I regret not being able to accept the chance to work with Dancoyote Antonelli when the offer was recently made to work on a project with him. Frankly, he is one of the few visual artists with any vision and critical apparatus I have met in Second Life who are attempting to perform at the same level of quality that I am pursuing here. In general, I must say that I am less than sanguine about the quality of what is classified as "art" in Second Life. I can only hope that other visual artists are coming in-world who will raise the overall quality of work.

Bettina Tizzy: What is missing from the sound/music experience in Second Life, both from the musician's and the listener's standpoint?

AldoManutio Abruzzo: In all fairness, I can only address this question from my own perspective as a performer, since I have found it increasingly difficult to enjoy other performances in Second Life. Small audience capacity, stability, and lag are the three single biggest impediments to high quality performance here, as I see it. I could say that the cultivation of an audience that is appreciative of non-"traditional" art music is missing, but that's something that has be developed, one listener at a time, and I do have some hope of that happening as we see more and more traditional classical musicians appearing in here. I think people like Thom Dowd are to be applauded and supported for trying to bring less well-known work in-world.

The capacity to have multiple performers playing in small ensembles would be great. Several brave souls have attempted to perform in small ensembles, by using Voice Chat, but that isn't that promising ... it's bad enough using it for voice.

More venues such as the Alexander Hall on the Princeton sim and Circe Broom's RatePoint Concert Hall (teleport directly from here) are needed to provide venues that don't have pose-balls for dancing and the music can be taken seriously. While she does have comfy cushions that are scripted, Bibi Book's SkyCastle (teleport directly from here) is among my favorite venues for my more "spacey" performances, simply because she has kept the distractions to a minimum and she herself emphasizes the need to support live music (not as presented by DJs, but rather, performers). We need more of that support and attitude.

Scope Cleaver's winged superstructure for Princeton - architecture that really soars

In the first rez, you know that Scope Cleaver is a perfectionist. He is also one of a handful of architects and designers who keep setting the bar for all others to follow, and he's only been in Second Life since late January of 2006.

His newest work - this colossal hourglass building on Princeton University's virtual campus - is so airy and open that a good wind would surely lift it and send it flying.

Sitting on Alexander Beach island, the sim-wide creation will be officially unveiled on November 28, and is intended as a gathering place for the Princeton campus community, including students, staff and faculty members. It will be open to the public, except for some special events. Teleport directly from here.


This photo by Harper Beresford

Back when the Not Possible IRL group began, the exceptional quality of Scope Cleaver's work and the sculptural flow of his very original designs made him an ideal candidate for NPIRL, so I hounded the poor man, all the while evangelizing about our mission, until finally I either convinced him to join or he surrendered, I'm still not sure which. At any rate, I am delighted to see that his work is shifting further away from Real Life architecture and opening - way up - to new heights that only the metaverse can afford.

I met up with Scope earlier this week to learn more.



Scope Cleaver: Everything I have done prior to this was more down to earth, more right-angle architecture. It's difficult to get rid of habits, ways of thinking, culture... and since this medium is still fairly new to me, experimenting is really the most important part of my learning experience here. It was a natural progression... time will help me slowly move away from my old ways of thinking about architecture, humans, and how they interact. I think an important component for all architects in SL is really to listen and be sensitive to feedback.

The island consists of three programmatic areas: The two large buildings that run across the sim on a diagonal, are intended for more formal functions. The building to the south, made up of triangular-shaped glazed sections, is an exhibition and gallery space. The twin building to the north - a more enclosed space - has a partial second level, and is intended as a reconfigurable community center for concerts, theatrical performances, installations, experimental builds, and other functions that arise from the needs of the campus community.

The hourglass shape is flanked by two very white, gleaming sandboxes, which Scope described as "elevated, glorified, clean and (with) some sense of minimalism."



"I thought it important to make whatever the students were building something to be seen and the main theme of this Sim, which is why I elevated both sandboxes like plates," said Scope. I wondered out loud what it will be like to work on the very white sandboxes, and he replied, "I have tried it myself and really like it.:) It gave me ideas on how I should build my own sandbox."


Only the students and faculty will have building rights here.

Scope doesn't appear to be anybody's acolyte. Consider where he gets his ideas...

Scope Cleaver: I take a lot of inspiration from music, especially of the ambient kind, which is an exploration of space in itself. It guides me and brings up images of structure and rhythm that I have learned to translate into an actual building. There is an audio installation/soundscape called "Mare Aeternum" here by AldoManutio Abruzzo that played into my vision. I get pretty obsessive with ambient music and can listen to it for extended periods of time.

He also quoted Einstein as we discussed his sources for ideas: "Imagination is more important than knowlege."

Next two photos by Harper Beresford


Scope Cleaver: Other than the technical glitches . . . I have learned how to handle large structures better by packaging them to move them around, and I also take more time to evaluate things as a whole. I am tending to be more about the big picture. The direction I'm taking is more open, yet very functional and detailed.



Working with traditional prims - no sculpties or megas for this man - Scope's work is completely seamless and precise. For this building, he relied on Cadroe's Lathe tool, and Filterforge for the textures.

Scope Cleaver: I could not have done this without the open source "Builder's Buddy" (scripted by Newfie Pendragon and available for free on the SL Forum) as well, which lets me handle moving the large structure and *very primmy* buildings around without glitches.



Scope named Persis Trilling, Princeton's Educational Technologies Center director, when I asked him about collaborators, saying that she'd been extremely patient and understanding.

Persis is someone I actively seek out for her engaging wit and good sense. I like to think of her as a modern day Dorothy Parker (a healthy one, mind you).


This photo by Harper Beresford

Having retained Scope's architectural services for Princeton several times over - even before work began on the first sim - Persis is clearly a fan of his work: "With this new sim, I had the luxury of allowing Scope to satisfy a few programmatic requirements as he thought best, with very few more suggestions than the functional ones. The result is a remarkably cohesive creation that showcases his great skill with light, texture, color, artisanal craftmanship, with a large helping of drama thrown in. It's a beauty. I love it!"


Under Persis Trilling's planning and direction, the Princeton campus is a hub of artistic and architectural activity

KK Jewell (aka Kirsten Kiser), an architect, curator and the publisher of arcspace, an online architecture and design magazine that's scoring 16 million hits a month, wrote an excellent piece on Scope's Gallery of the Arts building - also at Princeton - so of course I wanted to get her opinion on his latest work: "It confirms his place among the best in SL. Cantilevers and extrusions, rich textures, light filled interiors... are all characteristic of Cleaver’s architectural vocabulary."


Princeton University's Gallery of the Arts, also by Scope Cleaver

KK added, "I like his architecture language. You always recognize his work. He is unique in that he is really an SL architect; you stop comparing him to RL architects and discover a whole new language...maybe a language of the future...who knows? The more I learn about building in SL and how difficult it really is, the more I admire his work."



I asked Scope about his frequent use of the color orange.

Scope Cleaver: Orange is one of my favorite colors, and it's one of Princeton's official colors. There is never enough orange here! :) I think it really highlights the windows to have some color in them.



Scope Cleaver: In the summer of 2006, I was doing a building for Telus, and another one for a private client. Back then I had no idea if I should focus on doing prefab work (retail) or custom work. It's still balanced today, as I don't feel comfortable going full time in either direction exclusively. The big difference for me is that by doing custom work I get to interact with people and it's more dynamic than being in my workshop figuring out the next modern chair. I think the most important thing is that it should point to something... it should have a direction, meaning I design a building and I like people to think (it can be so much crazier).



Scope shared with me that he tests how avatars interact with his structures before, during and after their creation. I was particularly interested in this because I've found his office, for example, to be on the perfect virtual scale for my avatar to move around in. While it's very PIRL, you can check it out by teleporting directly here... and try out that 12-prim executive chair.



Addendum - December 17, 2007

Italian architect Gioacchino Laryukov had been busy attending to Real Life matters for quite some time, so when I saw him in-world, I rushed him over to see Alexander Beach. His impressions struck me as so interesting, that I'm posting them here.

Gioacchino Laryukov: I don't want to address the perfect development, the elegance of the textures, the great functionality or the numerous great details of this Masterpiece. Rather, I want to attempt to expose deeper architecturals concepts that I think have found in this work, a great expression.

THE PLANT AND THE SHAPE
Looking from above, flying over it, the building demonstrates a rational structure; a cross with axis of symmetry is in clear evidence: the two rounded volumes in one sense and the two squared platform connected by two arcs on the other. I mention this simply to make evident the concept of the building: the rational environment in which all the elements take their position and role.

But looking from the usual point of view for a human, with the feet on the ground, we can find a first “counterpoint”: this building shows in all its magnificence, an organic shape; it could be a creature both of the flora and of the fauna; a big flower with wonderful open petals, or an insect, just opening his wings before starting his flight.

And here we can note the distinction between the two axis of symmetry: in one sense there is a front and a back while on the other, the symmetry is perfect. This fact gives to the building a prevalent direction - we needn't say which - that makes it possible to organize the space around it.

OUTSIDE/INSIDE - FULL/EMPTY
And through this direction, the architecture comes into play... first, a play conducted in the definition of the spaces. One half of the building is a closed space with tapered windows; the other is an open space delimited by a light and wonderful succession of triangular glasses. This way the unity of the shape and its balance is preserved while there is a creation of two opposite conditions: the Outside and the Inside.

The first is defined with elegant touches in its shape identical to the closed part so you can really feel that you are in the same “space.” You can see from the Outside that the different parts belong to the same “creature.”

This effect is obtained with a wonderful and organized play of glasses and curtains, fulls and empties in a perfect balance that give to the building its great balance. Take a look to how the panels of the front of the big rooms are dynamically positioned to define the inside, while at the same time, they create a movement of compenetration between the outside and the inside.

In the same way we could speak about light and darks. Like sounds and silences in a symphony, all parts contribute in a dynamical way to the definition of the building in a balance, perfectly achieved.