Linden Prize Finalist
Studio Wikitecture: Open Architecture Challenge
Theory Shaw, Keystone Bouchard
A recent Wikitecture project focused on an architectural competition, hosted by the 'Open Architecture Network (OAN), to design a health clinic in a one of the more remote parts of Nepal. Considering OAN mission was quite similar to the values of Studio Wikitecture, we thought it would be an ideal opportunity to submit an entry, composed in the same collaborative and open source fashion OAN is known for.
To help aggregate the contributions of such a disparate range of individuals, we developed what could best be described as a 3D-Wiki plugin for Second Life. The Wiki-Tree, as we called it, worked very much like a conventional Wiki, but instead of tracking text documents in a linear history, this 3D-Wiki tracked versions of digital models and saved them within a continually evolving 3-dimensional collective 'mind map'.
When a contributor used the inworld interface to upload their design iteration, a new leaf grew out of the existing 'Canopy'. For every leaf created inworld, a corresponding section was also created on an external website. Besides storing the individual design iterations, the 3-dimensional Canopy was able to visually convey how the different ideas, submitted by different contributors, grew and evolved from on another. Popular designs in the canopy turned green, and the less popular designs turned red and were automatically pruned.
To review the various designs, members could simply click the individual 'leaves' and the design contained within would rez itself out on the parcel. Members were also able to upload snapshots, vote and comment on their fellow contributor's designs.
We believe that the more diverse a group of contributors, the better the resultant design will be in addressing the nuances of any particular problem. In this vain, it made sense for us to develop the 'Wiki-Tree'; on the Second Life platform. Besides being free, the inworld building tools were simple enough for a broad range of people to use for contributing ideas to the clinic's design. The ability to meet in an immersive environment, in real time, also helped immensely in nurturing a strong, dedicated community.
Since Second Life provided such a such a low barrier for participation, we are confident that the breadth and range of ideas reflected in the final design was far greater than if we had simply shared CAD files on a website. For example, we had a non-architect contributor who did extensive research on local building materials and techniques; such a adobe construction, and another who traveled and studied extensively in Nepal, contributing a number of cultural do's and dont's as it applies to this region.
Out of 566 registered entries from 57 countries, Studio Wikitecture won the overall Founders Award in the competition for an entry developed entirely within Second Life.
