Metaverse Design Lab: ‘Building the Metaverse’

Background:

The growing interest on web3 developments and metaverse concepts is driven by technology/ social media/ game engineering companies. Though 3-dimensional immersive environments have been part of architectural practice in the past decades, architects remain rather absent in the discussions on building a metaverse. The metaverse design lab seeks to raise awareness in higher education in architecture and foster the engagement and active involvement of architects in a field, which could fundamentally redefine the future profession and practice. It is a testing ground for interdisciplinary work to uncover potentials as well as gaps in current higher education for architecture.

Metaverse Design Lab:

In designing the real world, architects, civil engineers and urban planners are taking significant responsibility for buildings, urban quarters, cities and open spaces. With the advent of the metaverse a new area is opening up for designing and building immersive experiences. 

What role will architects, civil engineers and urban planners play in developing jointly with game engineers, programmers, web3 experts, VR/AR specialists and others these new virtual worlds. What responsibility shall they take, what definition of a metaverse will they foster, and what opportunities will they seize?

Discuss in an interdisciplinary three-days design workshop these questions. Define a concept of a metaverse for creative and sustainable human interaction in a frame of 10x10x10. Prototype the metaverse using your tools of architecture, engineering and design. Present your 3-dimensional model at an international conference in Munich with world-leading experts from web3, gaming, 3D animation, visual effects, sociology, management and architecture with the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG).