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Bouquet

There is one structure on Wolverine Island that could only be built in Second Life. It is a lot like a bouquet of flowers (hence the name).

I have seen a lot of pods and pod-like things in second life. Often, they are a repetition of the same structure, again and again. Generally, I get lost in these spaces. So, I will build custom pods to hang on the main wire-frame structure. This will help to further create a sense of place, which we're striving for on the Island.

Below is the general plan for the Bouquet. Remember, each pod will be shaped differently and custom-placed on the wireframe.


Why this structure?
-Bouquets are what patients receive when loved ones arrive to see them. They are a sign of hope in medical facilities.
-In Second Life, people are like insects that hover around and digitally pollenate spaces. Why not make the architecture more like a bush of flowers? (we have done this with some of the other structures as well, but perhaps not in such obvious ways).
-The structure also reflects a site-map for a website. Clickable maps of this structure will be found at it's base and perhaps near the telehubs, where people enter the island, so that they can get to any room instantly.

Small Lights

These little lights will help warm-up the Amphitheater Complex a little.

GO BLUEprints continues...

Here are the newest "BLUEprints". I've updated the Library, colorized the Museum, and looked at the Amphitheater from the side.

Medical Education in Second Life

I was recently gathering together a few links about education and medical communities in Second Life, and I thought I'd put them up here on the Wolverine Island blog. I think they provide some good reminders and examples of what to do and what not to do.

-From the authority (wikipedia):Education in Second Life
-Someone claims that these are the "Top 10: Virtual Medical Sites in Second Life". Just ignore Number 9.
-The New Media Consortium has probably the best campus in Second Life:NMC(but I still have my criticisms. We'll save that for another post.)
-cheesey but informative videos with lots of techno music (or "machinimas"): O.U., NMC, TXSTATE, and more.

But I have yet to see anyone really utilize the possibilities that SecondLife provides for training simulations. I think this is one thing that Wolverine Island could be really good at; training scenarios that follow contingency trees of activity = hours fun and excellent comprehension.

Kiosks

While we are probably still thinking about the best ways to use kiosks, I have two main categories: Signs and Maps.
Signs will be found near every major structure, telling what it is, just like on the real U of M campus. Maps will be found all over the island, some large, some small. By clicking on the name of a location, your avatar will be teleported to that actual location. You can see that I put the name right on the map to avoid having to search for location #28 on the map.

Misc Blueprints

Here are a few more plans to get us started in-world with things like bridges, railings, and lights. The few blueprints that we have to create yet are the info kiosks and the "Bouquet" (The Bouquet is the tree-like structure with gathering pods in the sky, which I think will be very difficult to make blueprints for. I will do a basic layout, but I will also need to figure a lot out in-world.). So, I think we are very close to being done the blueprints. We'll just need more confirmations from potential users.

GO BLUEprints continued...

Blueprints take some time. Luckily, making a blueprint will speed-up the construction phase immensely. Here are a few that I have been working on:


(The Bistro is like the Angelo's of Wolverine Island)

Simulation Building

The Simulation Building, which will probably house the standard patient and operating room training simulations, will be a simple and subtle building. It will have an exterior facade (the curvey, dippy part), but the interior floors will be very flat to keep people from getting too lost inside. If these blueprints seem too confusing,please let us know.

Library Model

We created a quick wirefusion model of the new Library design. It really is the best way to view this structure. I'll be making blueprints for this, but the model does a much better job of conveying the form. See the link below.
LIBRARY MODEL

Clement with Landscapes

I (My avatar Clement Greenberg, that is) went to play on Wolverine Island for a few minutes today. I built a few landmarks. I think Hank Rau (RL: Jamie Cope) was there too, setting up a telehub and doing some gardening. We are like giddy little kids right now.

Terraforming 1.0.1

Before
After

go there now

Terraforming 1.0

So here is the first terraform iteration of Wolverine Island. I used Backhoe to preview it and to make this image. Jamie will upload it shortly.
All of the little plugs and holes are for reference points.

Library with a Twist

Over the weekend, as I tried to make a clearer image of what the new Library would look like, I made some realizations. First of all, the whole first floor was stairs! That seemed strange to me. And it seemed too symmetrical.
Several factors relating to the stairs and the symmetry drove me towards this design. I believe it opens up the center area and looks more interesting. I like the new structure so much that I don't think we need the "membrane" that we had before.
But it was such a tricky structure to draw that I had to make a model. Perfect medium. I think Jamie might throw this into a 3D applet.
The shaft in the center is like an elevator only without the elevator car.

Aurora Borealis Lounge

I thought a good name for the Student/Faculty Lounge could be "Aurora Borealis". This is mostly inspired by the shape and other imagined features (and because it's Michigan). Here is the begin of the blueprints for it.

Blueprints: Amphitheater and Library

It's nice to see some really solid geometry. I think they will be that much better once we add the textures.

GO BLUEprints

I've begun making blueprints. This does not mean that anything is set in stone. If anything, it might inspire some greater understanding that will lead to critique and evolution. The Library is especially tentative, because I haven't heard from Jane yet about the new look. Here's a peak:

The Medical History Museum and Public Library

Creative Structuring

It is one of my main goals to create a campus that fosters interconnectedness and creativity. Here are some of the ways that I'm trying to do that.

Mixed-Use Urban Planning: By keeping spaces that have different uses within proximixy to one another, we can help bolster the vitality of the overall experience. The mixed-use approach is straight from Jane Jacobs' "Death and Life of Great American Cities".

Openness: All buildings, even the ones that have more closed structures, are visually open to the public eye.

Access: Whether through transparency, or just plain openings, avatars should be able to enter and exit these buildings with ease. There is the exception of the Simulation building which needs to be protected against interruptions for training purposes.

Memorable Structures: Each Quadrant as a strong character. This way, people don't feel like they are in a quadrant that they are not. The Libraries are one exception to this; they both have similar structures. To make them distinguishable from one another, they will have different proportions (The Private Library is narrower.).

Dynamics: The sandboxes are syncopated and populated with a few trees to avoid mental blocks to creativity. Breaking them into mini grids allows people to have a sense of their own space, but their proximity promotes interaction.

That's probably not everything, but I think it gives you a clearer sense of what has been going through my head for the past few months.

Amphitheater Obelisks

I'm not trying to mimic the Egyptians, really. :)
I just think obelisks will give a clearer view from the ground where the Amphitheater is located. I'm still working on the positioning, though. Lights at the top could possibly indicate whether a lecture was underway.

Open Library

When I designed the Library buildings I was thinking of very open structures that had permeable membranes. In a recent visit with Jane Blumenthal, we found that she has a desire to open up the structures even further than this. She even talked about having the Library in the woods or on a grassy plain. I thought this was so fantastic, because these are spaces that I'm taking inspiration from.
While they are about as open as they can be at this point physically, they still have a lot of visual closure. So, in trying to chop-the-top I ran into a few other design ideas. I think this solution is more elegant than the first, the levels would still be scalloped and alternating, and the top floor is completely open, as requested.

(We're mainly looking at the structure at the top right.)
I'd love to hear feedback.