Second Life Destinations: Hanging Gardens of Babylon
A little more than a week ago, Linden Lab featured on Second Life Destinations a build inspired by one of the Seven Wonders of The Ancient World, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
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Creator Patch Thibaud
is actually an architect in the physical world as well, and his years
of experience inform every detail of this majestic locale. After
observing some work on Patch’s Flickr, Resident Crista
reached out to him to build a region for her. Of the request, Patch
says, “I agreed to participate as long as I got to do The Hanging
Gardens of Babylon, which was an ideal subject; an evocative and
romantic concept, monumental in scale - and nobody has any idea what the
original looked like, if in fact it existed at all.”
Patch’s affinity for building in the metaverse is strengthened by the
fact that “there is no one in between me and the final result; I don't
have to deal with contractors, estimators, building codes, etc.,” and
yet there are limitless possibilities. Furthermore, Patch feels that “in
all 3D modeling software I am familiar with, you are working in an
abstract, gridded space. In SL I am used to working outdoors, with a
beautiful sky and perhaps with beautiful water, and the context of an
entire world.”
The concept of storytelling has been incorporated into many visual art
forms, and as a trained designer, Patch adopted an episodic approach to
the immense project. Patch created an extensive history for the estate:
“This build imagines a structure originally built in mud brick by the
Assyrians; later seized and rebuilt in stone by the Romans; {eventually}
acquired by a cardinal during the military struggles of Renaissance
Italy, who rebuilt the temple complex at the summit to include a villa
for him and pleasure gardens and pavilions; subsequent alterations and
additions by the cardinal’s family, including the ballroom and the
Moroccan Garden; and finally the current owner, who restored the whole
structure and its gardens, and inserted a gallery for art, built in the
modern style.”
Crista is also a longtime Resident, having started her inworld
adventures 14 years ago. For Crista, Second Life is “a part of myself…
part of my life and {it has} taught me many things that made me what I
am now, in RL and SL. I am one person living in two different worlds. A
wonderful SL can make a better RL. The Gardens were my SL dream for
years… A ton of thanks to Patch Thibaud, I am not sure if we have a
better builder. Sharing the beauty he makes, {as well as the} sensations
and feelings deriving from it, is the biggest pleasure and satisfaction
in this world.”
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