The Castles of Greater Coniston

Tags

Blackstone Castle, castles, Chin Rey, Greater Coniston, Keswick Castle, Sansara, virtual architecture

Coniston Castle

Castles are among the wonders of Second Life. You can still see them on the mainland, although many are private. Some of them are the abodes of vampire clans.

Coniston Castle

I have a friend who rezzes a small castle somewhere on the grid, at least once a year and almost always makes it available for visitors. Of the numerous builds I have stashed in inventory, I don’t believe I own a castle, except perhaps a freebie.

Coniston Castle

The castles in this post are currently at Greater Coniston. Two of them are on the ground, the rest in the sky. Three of them can be rented; two are currently available. I got the landmarks from a notecard sent by Chin Rey to local residents, titled Greater Coniston Castle Tour.

Greater Coniston is in the northern part of Sansara. I’m pleased to have a small art gallery on Willow Terrace and I run a small press with a friend in North Keswick.

Greater Coniston is a lovely Northern English landscape, extending across the Coniston sim and into the neighboring sims of Windermere, Langdale, Keswick and Buttermere

Coniston Castle, shown in the above three photos, is located in the sky.

Castle Hildring

Castle Hildring is located in the sky and currently available to rent.

“Most of the castles were created by Hattie Panacek, formerly the owner/creator of Rampart Castles. Today she runs Ex Machina, building and selling steampunk/atompunk themed works.”

Blackstone Castle

Blackstone Castle is the home of the Museum of Wizardry. It’s just off the Linden Road.

“All castles have been updated by me to reduce their land impacts, using modern techniques not available when they were originally built.”

Coniston 2018-01-15

Chin Rey

Blackstone Castle in the past

In the sky, is Blackstone Castle when it was Lord Claven’s Tavern and Residence. It is furnished.

The Coniston Guard Tower

Also located in the sky is The Coniston Guard Tower.

Keswick Castle

Keswick Castle is located on the ground in a lovely area with great views.

Keswick Castle

It is currently for rent.

Chateau le Kia

“Chateu le Kia was build by one of Hattie’s students, Jamez Moonstone, and as different as it looks, it was actually based on the Coniston Castle (or Castle of Fortitude as Hattie named it).”

Chateau le Kia, in the sky, is a dance studio. I explored the first level and then flew to look around the upper areas.

Chateau le Kia

In the notecard, Rey mentioned she has one more castle she hasn’t found room for yet.

 

 

 

 

Catching up with [Draftsman]

Tags

Builders Box, Jogi Schultz, Second Life, secondlife, virtual architecture, [Draftsman]

Earlier this year I looked forward to the Draftsman event; I had been anticipating the one that was to be Victorian themed. That was back in January, I believe. Recently I made time to check it out again.

I learned it is now a monthly event, opening on the 20th of each month and closing on the 15th of the following one.  And instead of being called An Architectural Event, I see Home Decor, Garden & Architecture in the SLurl.

Shown above is a glimpse of the inside of the Palace Movie Theater by Kraftwerk. I’d first seen a copy of this building near the landing of The Last Forever.

This round, I found it easier to get around. At the landing you can choose to walk past some buildings, etc to the center area which holds the decor and garden vendors or you can teleport to the center.

There are fewer buildings. Some are alongside the walk to the center; the others are on a demo platform in the sky. Shown above is the inside of Unit 254A skybox by Thistle Homes.

On the demo platform is the Steampunk Floating House by Pillows. The top photo of this post shows a detail on the roof of the tiny build.

Draftsman is connected to the Builders Box quarterly subscription.  I first heard about Builders Box in my Schultz Brothers group; I appreciate the masterful work of Jogi Schultz.

My Second Life is full of diverse interests; it’s mostly a consciousness lab for me. Shopping and events are only a small fraction of it. But I subscribed to Builders Box soon after reading about it and after seeing only two teasers. There were ten builds in the box which was delivered on May 5th and I am delighted and impressed by the value. There were only two that I consider just OK and about six of them I really like.

This is a personal blog, not a sponsored shopping blog, so more detailed info will have to be researched elsewhere.  Not much has been on my radar about this at all.

I own several different mainland parcels, none larger than 1024 sq m.  Some of the buildings are a bit large and high Li for those but often I fill spaces with just art and minimal decor.  I am very much looking forward to using most of these buildings and the whole experience has been enjoyable for me.  I consider it very well worth the lindens.

Visit to [Draftsman], Time Travel

Tags

Second Life, virtual architecture, [Draftsman]

Ionic A Strange Day_(b)

This evening I had my much anticipated visit to [Draftsman] – An SL Architectural Event.

From the description: “The Draftsman is an architecture event that is held bimonthly. Visitors travel through time and get to set eyes on a different architectural style each round, from Prehistoric to Middle Ages to Modernism. With endless of architectural style.”

I don’t attend many events but a couple of friends and I have been looking forward to this one for weeks. We attempted to get in earlier today but it wasn’t open and they were sleeping when I finally got in.

This round is open style; I believe the next will be Victorian, one of my favorites.

Violetility Gwen Ferox

Some builds are “coming soon” and not all the spaces were filled. The event is open until January 17th and more items might indeed be showing up. These photos show two of the smaller buildings I tend to go for.

There looks to be more furniture than buildings at this time. The setting was appealing and without the mass of landscaping that while pretty, makes some shopping events difficult for me.

I had to leap over a ditch to get into some of the builds and see things up close. Other sides of the street were much easier to navigate. This is a new event and I wish the planners success and a long run.

Note that I’m an independent blogger and this is a subjective accounting of my visit.

 

Water Tower ~ Riddings

Tags

mainland, Riddings, Route 3A, virtual architecture

There’s a fine architectural building being constructed in Riddings. The land was claimed just a little over two months ago and I’ve been checking the progress of this place called simply Water tower (under construction).

The year numbers above the door are 1926 – 1927. From the land description: “Siwo’s territory. Visitors are welcome :)”.The elevator or teleport system isn’t in place yet. I really enjoy the detailed work at the top of the building where the office is. There are wind chimes outside, a drafting table and other decor in the pleasant space.The tower is located on a small, interestingly shaped plot near the Riddings Rezz Zone which the Moles have landscaped and included benches. Route 3A runs through here.