It took just over two years to construct the Eiffel Tower (January 28, 1887 to March 15, 1889). Given that the conception, planning, politics & design commenced around 1884, this cultural icon in the making was actually a "work in progress" for at least five years.

I'd like to think that Gustave Eiffel enjoyed at least part of this journey.

Its comforting to imagine that as he watched the tower reaching for the sky the niggling day-to-day problems and the ever-present criticism receded enough to allow him some joy in the moment.

While the media was proclaiming "Gustave Eiffel has gone mad: he has been confined in an Asylum" let's hope he was actually relishing his work as he got on with the job at hand. Given the final outcome, I believe this hope is more than justified.

I've been thinking of Gustave a lot lately; pondering the joys of a work in progress.

Since I always have multiple project on-the-go, some (many?) of which will probably never reach completion (see my Petit Trianon for an excellent example), it's really for the best that I enjoy the process as much as the final result.

So with a lot of delight (and a little trepidation) I'm finally announcing my latest Second Life building adventure. Having run out of land on which to expand (... insert SL Region Cost Rant #1 here ...), I've taken to the sky determined to turn a region-sized platform into another slice of virtual heaven.

Ya gotta have a dream

Still fascinated by neoclassic architecture, I've been experimenting with single unit apartments that can be easily joined together in various combinations to form whole street blocks. Again, I'm reminded that making something simple can be a lot harder than making something complex.

Paris it's not but it's starting to come together!

I've put together a number of different apartment configurations, added a potager and decorated a little flower shop just for fun.

Read More ...