Ideas for Locus Amoenus

[Trebor Warcliffe]

https://picasaweb.google.com/1179757801 ... ust262011#

There has been a lot of talk over the past few months about our rather large vacancy in Locus Amoenus. For those of you unfamiliar with LA, it is a double-prim sim which in my opinion gives us a rather unique situation. Currently all parcels in LA are either 512sqm or 1024sqm and being that they’re all double-prim, the tier may hinder some of our budget conscious citizens or want to be citizens.
In real life Ancient Rome, around the end of the 1st century BC there was “a growing pressure for land in many larger, overpopulated cities that gave rise to the insula, or apartment (Unknown, 1999).” These were usually rectangular shaped building plots with 6 – 8 apartment blocks usually designed around an open courtyard. Usually shops occupied the ground floor with the second or third floors as living quarters.

My proposal is similar to this idea but without actual apartment blocks. The smaller parcels on the map above are 256sqm parcels. The footprint of the “insula” or apartment is the entire 256sqm. Keeping in mind that each parcel has 117 prims, we want each apartment to use as few prims as possible. Ideally I’d love to see each apartment be three stories high. I would suggest a teleport between floors instead of actual stairs to save on prims. I know that in AA they have builds where the teleport is a simple square on the wall next to the door.

I’ll start on the left top corner of the map where currently sits P.01, P02, P03. I feel there is no reason to relocate P.03 Fern Leissa’s Taverna to Limani. You’ll see that I’ve split P.01 and P.02 into four parcels. The two left side parcels will open up to the waterfront area, the far left wall. The two right parcels will face the insula courtyard.

Moving to the right we have the area where currently P.04, P.05, P.06, and P.07 rest. All four of these are available and would be laid out as shown on the map all facing inward to the courtyard. Moving further to the right where currently P.08, P.09, P.10, and P.11 rest. P.10 which has the letters A and B on my map above is currently owned by Danton Sideways. For the insula idea to work we would have to see if Danton would be willing to relocate. We have the same situation with P.09 which is currently owned by Alexi Navarathna. Even though it doesn’t show on my map I’d want to split P.09 into two separate parcels like the others.

P.12, P.13, P.14 are the remaining parcels in my layout. Just like I did with P.03 we would leave P.14 in place. P.12 we would not be able to split in half like we did with P.01 due to the fact the right side of the parcel faces a wall. Thus P.12would be a 512sqm parcel with the first 256sqm the same as the other apartments. We could stop there or we could build a smaller insula where P.17 through P.23 is currently located. P.23 which is owned by Tor Karlsvalt could be relocated to P.25.

With this proposal we could have up to 25 parcels available for as little as US$ 3.37 a month. A very enticing offer for a budget minded individual who’d like to become a citizen. Personally I’d promote these parcels to educators and not-for-profits in SL who are on the verge of losing their discounted tier rate. We have nice public buildings they’d be able to utilize for their classes or other get together activities. On a closing note I’ve heard some rustling in the bushes about proposing a sandbox for LA. While I do believe a sandbox in CDS is a good idea I believe most sandboxes I’ve seen on the grid were full sims. I’m not familiar with the workings of a sandbox but it seems the smaller the sandbox the less activity that would be able to be performed. If someone would like to fill me in on what’s required of sandboxes I’d be more than happy to analyze the possibility of it being placed in one of our original 5 sims.

As always I look forward to any feedback, suggestions, thoughts, opinions, and ideas from my fellow citizens and friends of the CDS. Remember that in the CDS you don’t just live in a community you are a part of that community. Let your voice be heard.

[Mizou Vavoom]

Apartment blocks sounds like a good idea especially if they are true to history. The question is, have we got enough interested people to fill these up? We might need to think about advertising the CDS on the SL main website on the slideshow showcasing various interesting locations.

[Rosie Gray]

Apartment blocks sounds like a good idea especially if they are true to history. The question is, have we got enough interested people to fill these up?

Trebor thanks again for all the thought you've put into this posting. I think that Mizou's comment above is spot-on. My immediate thought is the same, as time and again in SL I've seen that the majority of people don't want to live in apartments or very small plots. Everyone wants to sprawl out (shades of RL here).

While it's true what you point out about the apartment blocks being historically true, and indeed true today, I wonder just how many folks would actually rent them in SL.

I think before completely changing an entire sim it would be wise to update and market one pocket of what we already have split up in a similar way - such as the townhouse properties in Alpine Meadow. If we updated them, marketed them, and filled them up then that would prove that it's feasible. This could be done without all of the work of reparcelling first.

[Trebor Warcliffe]

Mizou and Rosie,

Thank you both for your feedback. Allow me to give you my train of thought on what led me to come up with this proposal. Now I’ll warn you, my mind can be a scary place at times, so please keep your arms and legs within the train while we’re on this journey.
To the best of my knowledge the town within the walls of NFS has rarely had a high number of vacancies and the times where more than 2 or 3 parcels were available they quickly disappeared off of the yellow map. NFS is a perfect example of a successful, small parceled, residential/light commercial sim. Within the walls there are 51 citizen owned parcels with a total of 10,736sqm. That’s an average of 211sqm per parcel.

In reality my “insula” proposal is no different than the fachwerk in the NFS in relation to function. The ground floor is either a business or a social gathering center and the floor or floors above the main floor are usually residential in nature. My proposal is to take the concept of the NFS and incorporate it into part of Locus Amoenus, constructing the buildings to represent the Roman/Greek theme of LA and Colonia Nova.

What’s the main drawback in NFS? It is a single prim sim which makes it rather difficult when it comes down to matter of prims. With LA being a double-prim sim my proposed 256sqm builds would have 117 available prims. The double-prim availability allows some flexibility for the owner to make the most out of a small situation. It is also a very affordable alternative to larger double-prim parcels in LA. Tier would be a very attractive US$3.25 a month.

Which leads me to my next point, attracting new citizens. I don’t know all the details but I believe the discounted fees that Linden Labs provided to educators and not for profits as a result of the outcry last year when LL abolished the educational and NFP discounts are set to expire for many of these Second Life residents. I think it was Beathen who suggested reaching out to these types of people. I see it as a win-win situation.

We have many wonderful public buildings that our citizens are able to utilize. Public buildings that for the most part are just lying there gathering Second Life dust. Think of all the activity these types of people could bring to our community. I do understand that an individual has the ability of becoming a citizen of the CDS for a mere L$250 without having to “own” a parcel but let’s be real that’s not truly a citizen. A citizen is one who lives amongst us, sharing our love for what we have here, it’s not merely a piece of paper they can purchase for L$250 a month and declare they are a part of us.

Please wait until the train comes to a complete stop before exiting. Don’t forget to gather up your personal belongings and I hope you’ve all enjoyed your journey on the Trebor Warcliffe Train of Thought.

P.S. I believe Anna and Tor are working on some advertisements and other marketing ideas within Second Life as a whole to draw attention to our wonderful community. I know the three of us along with others have been bouncing some ideas off of one another.

[Guillaume Mistwalker]

Trebor,

It was my idea a few months ago in May that the parcels in LA (17-20), because they are so oddly shapes and configured, that they could be turned into an insula building. As the new covenant, put into effect this term, allows sub-letting of parcels, my idea included having sublet-apartments or rooms that would be cheap (~100L/week) and the entire structure owned and operated either by an NGO or the executive. This would benefit people who are willing to "try out" the CDS and those who are money-conscious. However, a law would most likely have to be passed allowing this to happen and allowing citizenship to be granted to those who rent these parcels -- afterall, what's the use of some renting in the CDS if they don't receive citizenship? Could this idea not be incorporated? Afterall, we are seeing people leaving the CDS for other ventures due to political in-fighting and costs of the parcels here and this would be a great project to get the NG to work for and to get the remaining citizens we have left to work on a project, to inspire community.

Furthermore, this would help your idea of first floor -- commercial; second floor -- residential. The two could in this plan, in fact, be separate. It would attract both business people and people seeking residence. I completely agree, we as a community must set to work to revitalise and regenerate our sims: it's sad to me because a year ago two days ago I became a citizen and, to be honest, I feel as if I have seen more people leave the CDS. One way to revitalise and regenerate our sims is by renovation and, while this may not be appreciated by all, we must do it quickly. That's why I've begun to try to do work -- I started to make that idea of an insula and a few other projects, because we can fight amongst ourselves and we can argue this isn't necessary but, truth is, it is and I'm willing to volunteer -- just as so many said that we need volunteers for the NG. We can't just pick and choose for volunteers, we need to take what we can now. And it may seem that I am being a bit forceful with this and not compliant but I know that if I followed through with how things are normally done, it may never get done and it may stall. I apologise in advance.

Sorry, Trebor, for that rant but thank you very much for your dedication to this project! I'll contact you in world to talk to you.

[Moonrise Azalee]

I like the idea. NFS has done well with its' limited prims and space. I think if the residences were pre-built, by someone with good skill, low on prims, etc.. then it could work well. A problem with some of the existing builds is that once you take into consideration the prim of the build, there is nothing left for flexibility. I love what Rosie has done with using one of her parcels as a bit of beautification. I think if we are to do this sort of build, then using some prims for flowers, greenery etc, to enhance the area, make a common garden etc, would be nice. I had originally contributed an image, not sure if it is at all feasible, but it was an image for a 4 plot rectangular, connected build with shared garden. Giving each little build enough room for a personal outdoor space, as well as the common space in the center.
Keep in mind I can not draw. I am not artistic, nor possibly even good at trying to properly share what it is in my mind, down on paper.... but here is my attempt, lol:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/h ... directlink
Basically, each rectangular shape is one home+small garden space. I would imagine that building these simple structures could be very low prim, and could make good use of the space while still allowing 'tenants' or what not, to have an area that feels like personal space.

[Pip Torok]

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/h ... directlink

Basically, each rectangular shape is one home+small garden space. I would imagine that building these simple structures could be very low prim, and could make good use of the space while still allowing 'tenants' or what not, to have an area that feels like personal space.

Hi Moonrise,

Yes, I like the idea.

May I suggest an extra? (something in fact that may be in the plan already) :

Could the "wall" or partition between the small garden-spaces and the shared courtyard be not more than half-avatar-height and be either a trellis with or without flowers/plants, or white picket fence, whichever the citizen preferred?

Those within the shared courtyard would not then feel so shut-in. Those within their private garden would still feel secluded. And choice of fence flowers and plants in this area would enhance this feeling of seclusion and privacy.

"Space, space, private space
A shell around a self-embrace ...

What a cost though, what expense
In putting down a stronger fence

And keeping others from your Way
And peaceful waters in Your bay."

-- PT [Open University Poet, 1987] 'Around'

[Trebor Warcliffe]

I’ve worked on some basic plans for our 256sqm housing idea in LA based on Moonrise’s sketch. These are primitive plans done with Paint and they are sort of to scale. Unfortunately the photos I uploaded do not show the grid that I have in paint. If need be I can send to anyone directly the original works which shows the plans done on the grid.
I don’t know if this is the way the builders do it because I have no experience in building but here is what I did. Each square of my grid represents 1sqm. Each building surrounding the courtyard is a 12 x 21 sqm footprint. This calculates out to 252 sqm. I’ve provided a basic blueprint and you also have the elevation drawings for each side of the insulae. Windows are not to scale they are merely placed there for aesthetics. I assume the builder will have a better idea of placement and period correct windows.

Plan #1

Keeping in mind the concept of commercial on the first floor I have left the front of each unit wide open with no front wall or doors. This will help to achieve the open look we are going for. As you stand at the front of the unit looking in the left side of the unit has a wall down the entire side and into the garden. The garden is a part of the unit, not a public area though as you can see both the garden and part of the unit do open up to the courtyard. Looking to the back of the unit there is a wall against the back of the garden area. To your right is another wall but this wall only goes back only 12 sqm, leaving 4sqm of unit and 4sqm of garden open to the courtyard. I think in order to keep the prims low we could make use of a teleporter to go from the first floor to the second floor. I found this feature rather convenient when I rented a small unit in AA.

Plan #2

Plan #2 has a little more of an open air feeling. Not only is the front of the unit void of any walls or doors you also have the left wall open almost 15sqm. One idea would be to have this completely open while another idea may have a half wall with the top half open, or a half wall with wooden shutters or a canopy hanging over the top half. The outside wall starts where the garden is. So if you were standing outside on the sidewalk looking into the left side of the unit you would see the garden to your left. The right wall is the same as Plan #1.

Plan #3

Plan #3 opens the garden area for public viewing and encloses more of the main unit still leaving the front of the unit open with no doors. Ideally this would be where Pip’s suggestion would come into play with a small wall or the trellis or white picket fence idea. This would prevent people from trampling through your garden.

To cut down on prims and to keep within the idea of an insulae I would leave the second floors of each unit as one open space with no separate rooms. This would allow the owner flexibility in laying out their interior the way they want.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1179757801 ... directlink

[Moonrise Azalee]

Oh! I really like the ideas Trebor! I'm having a hard time visualizing it with the pics, but reading your explanations, they sound really good. An archetectual sort of program would be REALLY neat to use for something like this!Just for the visual effects.
Pip, yes, in the design I was thinking, private garden would be low walls, in order to allow an openess.
I Love, Love, LOVE the idea of prebuilt 4-squared residences like this. It would make the whole area look so much nicer. It can be hard to look at the land as it is and try to visualise how to use it for someone whos interest lies more in just having a nice place to live, than engaging in design etc.

[FernLeissa]

Hi Trebor,

Thank you for getting this discussion started. I do agree that Locus Amoenus looks loney and abandoned and in serious need of a face lift. I like the idea of organizing apartments around a central courtyard but would suggest that we start more simply by building on land that is already vacant rather than modifying or removing existing structures. Later, if we find a small apartment/store block successful, we might want to develp a more extensive make-over, though I am biased in terms of keeping existing "historic" builds.

For the record I am quite willing to move the Taverna to another location but I am very reluctant to ask the few people who have property there now to find another spot.

I'd like to suggest that we consider lots P.17, P.18, P.19 and P.20, which are already grouped around a common area that could be made into a courtyard, as the site for an apartment/shop build in LA.

I have temporarily rezzed an apartment building built by Alexia, as an example of the type of build I think we are talking about. It is just across the street on my lot P.07. Ignore the dirt (I can't terraform), take a look and see what you think. As I understand the suggestions, something like this apartment/shop would be built around a central courtyard. We could have some with two apartments on the top and two shops on the bottom; renting each as a shop/ apartment combo. We could have another like the one on my lot, wiith a large apartment on the top and a large shop on the bottom level, with each rented independently.Anyway, I though putting something up to look at might help the planning conversation.

I can only leave it up for two weeks as I will need the prims for another project I am working on. So if you are interested, run over as soon as you can.

Fern

[Rosie Gray]

Forgive me for pointing this out, but I think all of this sort of discussion and planning was supposed to have happened through the New Guild. Anyway, I think Fern's suggestion is good to not disturb people with existing land and buildings and focus on the empty plots. There's enough to do with them anyway.

The other thing to consider is, that now the new payment systems are in place that when any reparcelling happens that the Hippo boxes will need to be adjusted as well.

[Trebor Warcliffe]

Fern and Rosie,

Thank you for your input. Fern I think your suggestion of doing an insula, at least in the beginning, on a small scale a good idea. As you point by using the empty plots P.17, 18, 19, and 20 we are not displacing any current residence. This will also allow us to place more than one build on the plots in order for all citizens to explore the possibilities before a permanent decision is made. The current apartment you have rezzed in-world what is the size of it in terms of 256sqm and can it be divided into two units instead of the larger one that is in place now?

Rosie,
Yes you are correct; officially this sort of discussion and planning should be happening through the New Guild. The nice thing about discussing this in the forums before a formal presentation is made to the NG is the ability to gather people’s opinions and ideas. It lays the foundation for the NG to take ideas such as these to the next level.
To answer your other concern, yes any changes in the layout of the estate will need to be adjusted through our new Hippo payment system. Sudane and I as Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer respectively, have been working on getting the bugs fixed with the Hippo system currently in place in LA. As a citizen working on this project I will not bring Hippo in-world, estate wide without working out the few kinks we are experiencing. It would not do the CDS any good to bring something in-world before we know it is fully operational without any flaws or hiccups.

[Sudane Erato]

I'll use this thread to again make note of a perennial problem on Locus Amoenus and on the other "prim-multiplied" sims. We have overloaded the public areas with more prims than they were designed for; as a result relying on prims which *would be* private land if it were all sold.

To use Locus Amoenus as an example, here is the calculation which everyone should understand so as not to lead us into an impossible situation. Locus Amoenus has two kinds of private parcels, as follows:

512 square meters each allowing 234 prims. There are 27 of these. Total prims if fully used would be 6318 prims.
1024 square meters each allowing 468 prims. There are 15 of these. Total prims if fully used would be 7020 prims.

So total prims used if all parcels are occupied by owners would be 6318 + 7020 = 13,338. Allowing the fact that a full sim provides only 15,000 prims, this leaves 1662 prims for the public areas. I counted the prims in the public spaces this morning... there are 2081. So we already have 419 too many prims in the public areas.

As it is now, this would simply mean that one of the 1024 sqm parcels would need to be set aside and unsold in order to provide the excess prims for the public land. This note is to caution people that unrestrained building in public areas can make this situation worse.

Sudane.........................

[Trebor Warcliffe]

Sudane,

Thank you for this very informative post. Until now the issue of public prims hadn't crossed my mind so it was good you brought it up.

[FernLeissa]

Hi Trebor,

My apologies for taking so long to respond to your question about the "sample" build that I have placed on my property in LA. That apartment is one of a set sold by Alexia of the Time Machine. The second apartment in the package is designed a little differently, with two apartments on the top and two shops on the bottom. I believe it is meant for a 512 plot as is, but I would think it very easy to be reconfigured into two separate builds, each of which could be placed side-by-side on 256 sq m plots. I will ask Alexia.

Hi Sudane,

Thanks for the reminder about the public prim problem. Perhaps we should look to remove a few of the private plots available during the re-design and convert them to public, with just a few trees or other very low prim builds on them. I have seen problems in other communities too, where the Estate relies on private owners not using all their prims, with similar problems and worries.

Fern