Five Twelve meters squared is the free land-use allowance that comes with a premium account in Second Life. While many users will be content to take up residence in one of the prefabricated 'homes' provided by Linden Labs, they also have the opportunity to purchase 512 sq.m of virtual real estate on the mainland.
In real-world terms, this is 0.05 hectares, enough for a family home and a small garden. A 512 parcel can sustain the weight of 117 prims (the fundamental building blocks of SL objects). To me it represents a great democratic equalizer: the basic space and budget available to everyone, to be used however they choose. Within these constraints, however, there is space for great creativity.
In real-world terms, this is 0.05 hectares, enough for a family home and a small garden. A 512 parcel can sustain the weight of 117 prims (the fundamental building blocks of SL objects). To me it represents a great democratic equalizer: the basic space and budget available to everyone, to be used however they choose. Within these constraints, however, there is space for great creativity.
The Topophilia 512 Project is a playfully serious kind of journey that is shaped by five intentions:
- To stimulate the exploration of mainland continents within Second Life
- To celebrate the diversity and creativity of virtual world users
- To categorize and document the use of small virtual spaces
- To discover by direct observation principles of design that may have wider applications
- To reflect on the observable elements that contribute to an intangible 'sense of place'
512 Project postings on the Topophilia blog take the form of 'Data', in which I document the use of a specific parcel, and 'Analysis', where I give play to the insights that have emerged during my inquiry.
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