Tag Archives: Public Works Island

virtual world fest for built environment?

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Peak Oil awareness: today and tomorrow, Eco-Friendly sim Etopia is having a two day activity to help raise awareness of our global overdependence on oil.

Etopia will host a concert, panel discussions, freebie hunt, videos, exhibits and displays in the hope of touching more people in SL and all over the globe and inspiring changes in our world.  Etopia Bamboo Bikes will be given away with bike hikes scheduled as peaceful demonstrations of our support of alternative methods of transportation. We hope that riders will then take their bikes and ride all across SL.

Read more for the schedule and see how SL can be a tool for positive change.

Thursday, June 26th

Opening Events (Main Entrance)                               12:45p – 1p SLT
Live Concert – Pillowfish (Community Center)          1-2p SLT
Pedal-thon (Main Entrance)                                        2-3p SLT
Panel Discussion (Community Center)                       3-4p SLT
Sailing Tour (Etopia Prime – Beach)                            4-5p SLT

Peak Oil Video (Main Clocktower)                               5-6p SLT

Pedal-thon (Main Entrance)                                         6-7p SLT

Friday, June 27th

Class: Cooking Without Oil (Main Entrance)              1-2p SLT
Pedal-thon (Main Entrance)                                          2-3p SLT
Peak Oil Video (Main Clocktower)                                3-4p SLT
Freebie Hunt (Main Entrance)                                       4-5p SLT
Pedal Thon (Main Entrance)                                          5-6p SLT
Discussion (Tsidel’s Cafe – Prime)                                6-7p SLT
Live Concert – Sassy Nitely (Prime Bandshell)   7-8p SL

thanks to HodgePodge and Faythe Zauber at the Going Green Store  (on Etopia )

And ….

And then hot on the heels of the Public Works Group orientation and Open Day, this Saturday (28th June) a Second Life birthday event that runs along side the Sustainability Now, Building’s online conference on July 1st, is “Urbanism, Architecture, Planning: How Second Life Can Help Build the Urban Landscape of the First Life–and Vice Versa“ See you there?!?!

from the Arch Blog:
Date/Time: July 1, 12:00 p.m. PT (thats 8pm in the UK?)

Location: http://slurl.com/secondlife/SL5B%20Linked/185/187/25/

Moderator: Rissa Maidstone (RL Kim Smith)

Participants:
Tab Scott (RL Terry Beaubois), Creative Research Lab, Montana State University
Diva Canto (RL Cristina Lopes), Dept. of Informatics, UC Irvine
Boston Borst (RL Eric Gordon), Department of Visual and Media Arts, Emerson College, Hub2
Keystone Bouchard (RL Jon Brouchoud), Crescendo Design, Studio Wikitectur

built environment events … coming soon

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News of up and coming events which in some way isite / fairsnape are involved or participating in. Information and contact links are included below but please feel free to leave comments or contact here for more information, or indeed for help on accessing the online events

(V indicates the event has virtual or online access elements, saving your travel and environmental footprint.)

Saturday 28th June. V

Open and Orientation day on the Public Works Island in Second Life. Your chance to pop into second life and see what all the fuss is about, get a guided tour around interesting construction activities, view environmental and education projects, talk to second life users and see how second life can help with your collaboration projects and meetings.

Details: Open Day register through the Public Works Group Web site,

July 1/2 V

Sustainability Now, Building‘s online conference organised by ZeroChampion blogger Phil Clark, is to take place from 8am to 8pm on the 1 and 2 July. From your home or office computer, visit this unique FREE online event and have the opportunity to Network with like-minded professionals; Hear from industry thought leaders; Visit the exhibition, and take part in Q&A sessions.

A series of live online seminar topics are planned  including “EPCs – Surviving Them Now and Assessing their Impact” and “The Cost of the Code for Sustainable Homes”.

Details: Sustainability Now virtual conference

July 10th

Best Practice Procurement and Support. A Lancashire Best Practice drop-in event hosted by UCLAN, (University of Central Lancashire)  in Preston. Find out the ‘best practice’ issues your customers are looking for in procurement and seek assistance from the ‘best practice’ support organisations. There will also be a series of mini presentations throughout the day and a chance to network and chat.

Details: Latest event news here

July 16th

Route to Zero improvement module as part of the Elevate Constructing the Future programme.  An early evening event to learn about starting out on a route towards low or zero carbon future for your organisation

Details: Route to Zero . Register through Constructing the Future here

October (date to be fixed but between 10-17) V

be2camp. A planned event to discuss and explore the use of web 2.0 technologies and applications for built environment activities.  The event is being organised on non-conference and bar-camp ideas, which means you can get involved in designing the event, speaking at the event, or providing support and sponsorship. This event is already attracting much interest in the UK, the USA and Australia.

Details:  be2camp wiki, blogs

October 29th / 30th V

Elevate’s Constructing The Future national sustainability conference.  Details to follow but get the date into your diary now.

Note that it is planned to host a Best Practice Club Question Time Event on the evening of October 29th

Details: background competition contact for more info

Watch this space for more events and updates

eco tour in second life

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In advance of the Public Works orientation day take a look at the video, Eco Tour on Second Life. produced earlier this year by UC/Berkeley graduate student Stephanie Gerson (Sequioa Hax in Second Life) and Charles Lawrence (Geuis Teses in Second Life),  part of a larger project with the Environmental Protection Agency to explore how computer and video game technologies can be applied to environmental issues.

The tour will take you to places like:

  • Eolus One, where a virtual world energy management system is reducing energy consumption in real-world buildings; This should be of interest to all facilities managements people and those in the built environment.
  • Etopia Eco-village which showcases sustainable architecture and sustainable living;
  • the Avatar Action Center that seeks to educate Second Life residents about sustainability issues and empower them to take action in their real lives; and
  • Second Chance Trees where residents plant virtual trees that trigger the planting of endangered tree species worldwide.

second life orientation day for built environment ppl

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Friend and colleague Pam Broviak from the Public Works Group in SL, GridWorks and LaSalle Illinois, has just posted an item on her blog regarding our planned orientation day on June 28th.  Join us for an introduction and guided tour. UK times and a programme are still to be confirmed, but it should be possible to log on from 10am BST.

Pam explains:

With the upcoming Sustainability Now virtual conference, the Public Works Group is offering an Orientation Day on Public Works Island in Second Life on Saturday, June 28, 2008. Seasoned Second Life residents will be on hand to greet you as you enter Second Life.

If you have never been in Second Life, this is a great opportunity to try it out knowing that there will be people there to meet you and help show you the ropes. Because most people have not been exposed to this type of interface, entering Second Life alone with little guidance at the beginning can be challenging. We are hoping to make that transition a little easier by being there to answer questions, give away free stuff you might need for your virtual world, and point you to some interesting places in Second Life that are tasteful and engaging.

By registering through the Public Works Group Web site, you will enter Second Life on Public Works Island instead of through the normal orientation that others go through if registering on Second Life’s site. This way you avoid all the chaos and instead enter Second Life in an area that is more professionally themed.

3DCamp

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Suddenly find myself with the possibility of speaking about our second life activities on the Public Works Island and International Eco Code Park at the 3DCamp in Limerick on the 24th May.

By a coincidence I will be travelling through Limerick that day. The event will be live within second life, through twitter with questions to speakers via tweets. A right old mash up !!

so what is it?

3Dcamp is a themed Barcamp which will focus on virtual worlds (Second Life, the Metaverse), mirror worlds (Google Earth and Virtual Earth), mapping mashups, GPS, Location based Services (LBSs), haptics (eg. Wiimote hacks), 3D modelling (Blender, Sketchup) and all things 3D. Essentially the internet beyond the 2D browser.

Everybody is welcome, from users to entrepreneurs, developers, interaction designers, sociologists, artists and business people. More details to follow…

When: Saturday 24th May 2008
Where: Engineering Research Building, University of Limerick
Start & Finish: 10am start, 5pm’ish finish

isite in second life

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To enable the second life discussions around isite themes of built environment sustainability, isite now has a new meeting facility within second life courtesy of the Public Works Island.

In addition to adhoc discussions with second life friends from around the world, it is planned to hold structured, but still informal events, exchanging ideas and approaches to sustainability in its very widest sense.

Join us in second life – we are here

To join Second Life through the Public Works Group

wanted … eco home builder

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I have for a while now been exploring Second Life’s contribution to the built environment – on themes of collaboration, education and usability.

One of these ideas is to create a UK Level 6 Eco Home within second life to use as an educational device. A meeting a month or so ago with Pam Broviak (Public Works Director for the City of LaSalle, Illinois) has led to a collaborative project forming an International Eco-Code Park within Second Life. The Public Work island already contains a US Code House, demonstrating how such virtual builds can be used effectively.

Read more over on Pam’s Public Works blog

The island also contains a brilliant bridge tour built by TEEX enabling you to view all risks and hazards of concrete bridge construction. Read a review in the latest, hot of the press, copy of GridWorks

So a plot of land has been cleared, signs put in place, across the street from the US Code House to build a UK level 6 eco home. Perhaps a Dunster (level 7) home or Hanham Hall home? (Location on Public Works)

We are now seeking support from designers and SL builders to help on this exciting project. If you are a SL builder, educator or would like to fund and support this project please do get in touch. (or IM Brand Woodin or Pam Renoir from within Second Life)

When complete, or indeed even in construction, the international eco-code park will enable educational tours and visits from colleges and universities, on site workshops and discussions along with the show casing of real world eco solutions and material. It is even anticipated the homes could be used to give building code assessors more awareness and depth to training – as the existing TEEX bridge and Code house do already.

If you do not have a Second Life – join up through our dedicated Public Work registration site – you will arrive in Second Life at the Public Works Island and meet other built environment professionals there who will assist with any questions.  We look forward to seeing you there.