Preparing the Paper Tower

     The Paper Tower is one of my pet builds - one of my first. Working on its grand scale and industrial motifs was an exciting new adventure in my new exposure to 3D building. I have many fond memories with friends, and with public events in and around the Tower. It is one of the last standing of my newbie builds. For years it has been the symbol of the city. In March 2010, Derek Michelson invited me to build his ACC Alpha sim from bottom to top. After terraforming was complete, I built several buildings, of which the arena called ACC Studio of Builds (currently named Paper Tower Court) defined the central hub of the sim, and still does to this day. On April 10, 2010, the Paper Tower was erected over the ACC Studio of Builds, and has remained there ever since. It’s witnessed public events, personal meetings with friends, and even had a jungle which sprawled to two floors in its midsection. The inside walls of the Tower’s shaft was textured with an exhibit that visitors could see as they climbed the spiral staircase rising the whole height of the Tower. Translucent panels around the artwork allowed visitor walking up or down the staircase to see the views of the city below. This was my newbie pride and joy.

Recent photos of the Paper Tower rising above ACC Alpha
have been installed this evening at the Looking Glass Hall
at the museum right below the Tower. I wanted to create this exhibit while the
Paper Tower still stands.

     Because I have a strong emotional attachment to the Paper Tower, it took me about two years to finalize the decision to take it into inventory. It’s simply too high. Theoretically, tall structures give great views over a city, but the default position of the avatar’s camera sees only sky after a certain altitude. In order to see the city as you walk in a high structure, the platform on which you walk must not exceed mid height. My hope is that the translucent floor of the new Paper Observatory will cater to this default.

     The Paper Tower will not disappear entirely. I have preserved a couple of its parts in the new Observatory. Most notably, the dual themes of decomposition, and paper, remain. The Observatory in every respect is the offspring of the Tower, even hovering in the airspace above the Paper Tower Court. It will take over the focal point of the sim and be a place of exhibitions. But instead of art displays, scientific information will fill the Observatory.

     With the Carnival of Architecture less than a week away, I have to concentrate on the positive aspects of the new change, and realize that the sadness I feel at losing the Tower from the sim is the expense due for the regeneration of the sim. As I prepare the Tower for packing, most of the furnishings and plants have been removed already. It's spiral staircase (122 meters high) still takes you on a dizzy walk up to observation deck at 155 meters over the city. The top of the Tower is at 175 meters . Please see the previous post for the date, time, and place of the ceremony. The Paper Tower will already be safely stored in inventory before the festivities begin, so I will pack away my grim face too. I can guarantee one thing, the carnival will be interactive and a lot of fun. This is how I want to issue in the new build. 

XXX