3 coloured lights=white

References to Journals - International Journal of Ambient Energy

I have referred to the International Journal of Ambient Energy that I have been allocated in a few ways:

• Since this journal is about the reduction of fossil fuels, I have tried to make my design a little more supporting of this idea by being more simplistic so that it does not require as many materials, therefore having less embodied energy, reducing the generation of possible fossil fuels.

• Another way I have tried to make my design have less of an impact on the environment in terms of fossil fuels, is by offsetting the bad impacts by having 4 pot plants on each corner of my space which decreases the net impact, in an effort to restore some goodness in terms of air quality.

• This journal focuses on ambient energy including nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, biomass, solar, photovoltaic, tidal, wave and geothermal power. I believe that my particle system, "fire" (looks like yellow smoke) provokes the feeling of geothermal power. 

References to Journals - Wallpaper*

I have referred to the Wallpaper* journal that I have been allocated in a few ways:

• Wallpaper* journal covers many areas including design, interiors, fashion, art and lifestyle to interest readers. This diversity motivated us to make our design similarly full of variety so that it appeals to a large range of people. 

• The journal is also quite abstract in terms of the images contained in them. Abstraction is evident in my design in my offset material and alpha channel textures produced in photoshop. These textures were further incorporated on various surfaces (outlined in previous post).

• The journal showcases current trends in terms of design, interiors, fashion, art and lifestyle. We have tried to make our design modern and up-to-date to keep up with ongoing trends in terms of design ad interiors.     

References to Journals - Area (Milan)

I have referred to the Area (Milan) journal that I have been allocated in a few ways:

• There was an issue of the area journal which focused on the history of italian architecture. This inspired us to incorporate poles in our design (In Archit's section) which were inspired by Roman pillars, except we decided to give them a modern twist by making each pole a different fluorescent colour. 

• There was another issue called "simplicity" (Area 106) which inspired me to make my area simple with a few strong features that had an impact being simple, rather than a clutter of features which had too much going on.

• Similarly there was an issue called "gate" (Area 87) which provoked us to create an overhead shelter form with the texture similar to a metal gate. We also included metal0gate-type textures at the base of the structure. 

• Another inspiration was issue 85, called "colours" which made us realise the importance of colours in our design and the fact that they make a structure a lot livelier. This reinforced our decision of making the pillars in Archit's area colourful.

Details and Requirements

• Alpha Channel incorporated in design:

I have put my alpha channel as a texture on a rotating decoration piece overhead. The entire shape is transparent except for the alpha channel texture applied on it. The colour of the design of my alpha texture has been tinted red. I did this by uploading the Targo file of my alpha channel on SL for L$10, after which I used it as a texture on this surface.

• Offset Material incorporated in design:

My offset material has been applied on to the back of the 6 cones around my space. (The cones are to display my journals' websites and blog posts). I did this by uploading the Targo file of my offset material on SL for L$10, after which I used it as a texture on this surface.

• Interactive Element incorporated in design:

I have designed a network including a light switch (on the flat panel towards the left of the picture) and 7 spheres on the corners of my space that glow when it is touched.I did this with help from a friend's blog (Marina). She had the specific scripts needed for the light switch, rotor and the lights itself which I applied on the various structures, after which I linked them together by pressing Ctrl-L.

This picture was taken when the lights were switched off:

And when the lights are switched on:

I have another interactive element in my design - the balls that change color when touched. The 4 large red balls on each of the 4 corners have been modified to change colour from red to green, and back to red after 8 seconds when touched. This was done using a linden script from scratch for second life (S4SL) detailing that after it is touched, it will change colour to green (a certain number) and change back to red after 8 seconds.


Particle system incorporated in design:

I have incorporated a particle system into my design by having small gray spheres on top of the lights (light brown spheres) that emit particles. The particle system that I have chosen is called "fire" and is basically like yellow smoke giving the area a very peaceful ambience. I incorporated this particle system by travelling to a specific location in SL which had many different particle varieties. I tried all of the samples and imported their scripts after which i tried each one of them on these spheres and decided that the "fire" variety suited it best. 

• Interesting Media Texture incorporated in design:

I think that an interesting media texture in my design is the distorted shape which is transparent and has my alpha channel on it as a texture and rotates overhead (due to a script in S4SL). 

Another example of an interesting media texture is the horizontal panels on the perimeter of my space. This texture is interesting as it is slightly transparent and also has a slight glow which makes it stand out and also makes it aesthetically pleasing in my opinion. It can also be used as an arm rest when users are observing the surroundings.

Final Virtual Library

We have finished constructing our virtual library and this is our overall final product:

My individual part has turned out to look like this:

Library Beginning

When we started our library, Alena, Archit and I decided to make a structure on Second Life that would have a different section/floor for each one of us, with connections. We decided to have this approach to the project so that we were able to individually pursue a section of the library and display our own skills and thoughts, while not being separate from the other parts of the virtual libraries. We had also agreed on helping each other in our separate sections by contributing our ideas and skills and collectively producing an innovative structure. I am happy to say that I believe we have achieved these goals.

These are some images of the library approximately half way through its construction (from approx 1.5 weeks ago) after we had established the parameters of our separate sections. I was responsible for the square deck, Archit's area was the top part of the 2-storey structure (Linked to my section) and Alena's section was the bottom part of the 2-storey structure.

Offset Material

Alpha Channel 2

Alpha Channel

ELEVATIONS - Treehouse (ArchiCAD)

FLOOR PLAN - Treehouse (ArchiCAD)

3D VIEW - Treehouse (ArchiCAD)

Wallpaper*

Wallpaper* is an exclusive journal based in the United Kingdom emphasising on travel, design, entertainment, fashion and media. It gives readers a high quality and up-to-date insight to trends and innovations in relation to these areas in depth. The many images in the journal fulfil the phrase "a picture speaks a thousand words".

Area (Milan)

Area is a diverse italian journal that focuses on a specific aspect of architecture in each volume, with an abundant variety of projects regarding each specific topic. Some recent issues have focused on "beauty of built", "zero volume", "introverted architecture", "leisure", "glenn murcutt" and "history of architecture". The pages of each volume are filled with quality drawings, photos and articles detailing each project, allowing readers to enjoy the material even more.

International Journal of Ambient Energy

International Journal of Ambient Energy informs readers about the development of academic research and policy regarding self regenerating energy sources. This initiative have been a result of the increasing awareness about the importance of decreasing our dependance on fossil fuels. This journal reports original research, review papers, book reviews, applications and case-studies on all areas of this subject, including nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, biomass, solar, photovoltaic, tidal, wave and geothermal power. It emphasises on the use of renewable power within the built environment, educating and discussing ambient energy.