An earlier post about Studio Wikitecture discussed how non-architects could help design virtual buildings – like a health clinic in Nepal – in Second Life. But in addition to dispensing with geographical obstacles, the virtual world can also help overcome cultural and religious barriers.

Rita J. King and Joshua S. Fouts, both senior fellows at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, spent a year studying what people – represented by their avatars – were already doing to learn about Islam in Second Life.  (In addition to their virtual world explorations they also traveled in the real world to four continents.) King and Fouts are also CEO and creative director as well as chief global strategist of Dancing Ink Productions, “a full-service creative company that develops business strategy, policy, immersive narrative and mixed-media, mixed-reality content including games, conferences and cultural intelligence for a new global culture and economy in the Imagination Age.”

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If you’ve ever regretted not attending architecture school it’s not too late. You can still cultivate your latent Frank Gehry design skills – you might just need to enter a virtual world.

Second Life, a 3D virtual world that was developed by Linden Lab and launched in 2003, allows users, or residents, to interact with each other through avatars that they create. As it turns out, it’s also a great way to break down physical barriers and allow for collaboration that isn’t as easy in real life by architects and people who share an enthusiasm for architecture and design but lack formal training.

One way you can get involved is through Studio Wikitecture, an open group that uses Second Life to allow a geographically disperse group to design and collaborate on architectural projects.

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