Explainer: Is there work for architects in the metaverse?

Imagine designing a tower with no planning committee to get proposals past, no value engineering, and no sloppy builders to ruin its execution.

For architects, the chance to design in a permissive utopia is surely one of the most tantalising possibilities in the emerging network of digital worlds known as the ‘metaverse’.

While a fully realised metaverse isn’t here yet, and might never be, its advocates are hailing it as the next generation of the internet. Sceptics, on the other hand, dismiss it as tech capitalists’ latest marketing gimmick.

But, rather than wait to find out, almost every sector is making forays into this unknown territory. City governments are developing metaverse platforms, students are attending virtual lectures in it, Walmart is exploring virtual shopping, and Manchester City is designing a metaverse stadium.

The rush of brands and companies looking for a ‘metaverse presence’ is creating a cottage industry of architects and designers producing 3D models of buildings (there is less work for engineers, as the properties won't have to actually stand up).

Feeling mystified? Read on to find out how architects should approach this complex new digital frontier.

What is the metaverse?

It’s a fuzzy term, but essentially it is the ‘next phase’ of the internet, in 3D rather than 2D, and built around technology like virtual reality (VR) technology. A virtual world, where people can meet, socialise, shop, and learn. It is straight out of science fiction: the term was coined in Snow Crash, a 1992 cyberpunk novel by Neal Stephenson. Metaverses have existed for years in online games such as Second Life, but advances in technology have led to a new generation of online worlds such as the Sandbox and Decentraland, which have their own digital economies. Tech giants trying to stake their claim, with Mark Zuckerberg announcing last year Facebook would be ‘pivoting’ to focus all its efforts on creating the metaverse, even rebranding the social network as ‘Meta’.

Voxel Architects’ ‘digital twin’ of Sotheby’s in Decentraland

What’s the point of it?

It’s about evolving the way we interact online, more relevant than ever since the pandemic forced everyone to work from behind a screen. This is already changing. Think of how estate agents started to host digital ‘walk-throughs’ of properties online during lockdown, universities moved to remote learning and cultural events were held virtually. In the metaverse, an institution such as a university could create a virtual headquarters to hold online lectures in a far more immersive and interactive way than running a Zoom call.

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Next Top Metaverse Build

But the metaverse also could mean big money, offering huge potential for companies to market themselves to millions of users. Skateboard brand Vans has revealed its online skatepark has seen over 48 millions visitors to date. In Decentraland, users are able to buy and sell ‘land’ as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). It gets complicated, but in simple terms NFTs are a digital asset that represents a real-world object such as a piece of art or music, or a property. ‘NFTs mean that now we can have digital ownership of any asset,’ says Adonis Zachariades, co-founder of NFT marketplace Renovi, the backer of a new metaverse architecture competition. ‘It is a game-changer and presents so many profiling and commercial opportunities for architectural and design professionals.’

Who is building in the metaverse?

Decentraland has made up to 90,000 plots of ‘land’ available, an artificial scarcity imposed to mirror how land economy works in real life. ‘Most of the metaverse would be tumbleweed if we enlarged the terrain,’ says Zachariades. If Decentraland added more land, he says, it could ‘severely damage their reputation and cause land values to drop’. The plots, which measure 16m², are fetching huge prices. Property investment fund Republic Realm has reportedly bought a parcel of land for more than $900,000 to build a virtual version of Tokyo’s Harajuku shopping district. Wall Street bank JP Morgan has opened a ‘virtual lounge’ there.

NFT42 HQ by Voxel Architects

Who are the early architect pioneers?

Well-known global firms such as ZHA have started researching metaverse design, as well as BIG Architects, which is reportedly already designing a Decentraland HQ for media brand VICE. But a number of dedicated practices have launched with the sole purpose of designing virtual architecture.

Voxel Architects was set up two years ago. Its Romanian co-founder, George Bileca, a former car designer and architectural visualiser, now leads the practice which employs 21 people across the world, including three ‘traditional’ architects. It has designed high-profile projects such as the ‘digital twin’ of auction house Sotheby’s London HQ, and an art gallery inspired by the Chinese- American architect IM Pei.

Stavros Zachariades, an associate at Squire and Partners, is currently designing his first metaverse project. He says architects are already working with 3D software, many of which have file formats that can be uploaded to the metaverse. ‘The barrier is quickly dissolving. If you can use SketchUp, blender or Unreal Engine, you can pretty much design for the metaverse.’

How do you design in the metaverse?

The design process works just like real life, explains Bileca, with a brief from the client, and early design work before the concept is ‘locked in’ and built. ‘There are no engineers in the metaverse, but developers do matter to check doors can open and that the design is interactive,’ he adds. Metaverse architects need to be creative – while Sotheby’s is a recreation of its existing HQ, future buildings are likely to be far more experimental. ‘You don’t need beds and toilets [in the metaverse] so the challenge to come up with something totally new,’ says Bileca.

Luca Arrigo, of Metaverse Architects, based in Malta, set up after spotting a gap in the market and has been working on metaverse projects since last March, including the ‘tallest tower in Decentraland’. He says the profession will need to reskill to learn coding, understand how metaverse platforms work, and to ‘break free of the physical limitations of real life’. Asked what architects need to consider, Arrigo says sound is very important such as the noise a door makes when it opens, as well as the ‘narrative’ of what a building will be used for.

Metaverse Architects

Are there rules?

There is no need for planning permission, and no planning authorities who can reject designs. But it’s not a free-for-all. You can only build up to 20m on one 16m² plot, which then increases depending on how many plots you have. This is because limits in the existing technology means that without constraints on digital file size the metaverse would struggle to load. This is also why to those used to hyper-real renders, the metaverse visuals look pixellated.

Should architects believe the hype?

Many people doubt the metaverse as one joined-up virtual world will ever exist. And there is undoubtedly a huge question mark over whether people will really want to spend their time in virtual worlds, especially if it involves wearing goggles. There is concern too about what kind of society a metaverse might create, how safe it will be, and the role of controversial giant tech companies such as Facebook.

But the growth of virtual reality and other technologies is undeniable and post-pandemic its real-world application is seeming less far-fetched. Architecture graduates have long been poached by gaming companies, and now it seems yet more might answer the call of the metaverse. As Arrigo says: ‘You don't need anyone’s permission; you don’t need to apply for any permits; you can find all your creative energy and unleash it in the metaverse.’