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Architecture in the Metaverse

Throughout history, architecture has taken various shapes and forms, influenced by the rich context that surrounds each creation. As technology advances and philosophies continue to evolve, so do the characteristics of architecture and its landscape. Today, we’re feeding our curiosity about a fresh vision for the future of architecture that embraces the decentralized principles of Web3, the construction of digital landscapes in the Metaverse. 

The Metaverse

Coined by American author Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel Snowcrash, the Metaverse was conceived as the successor to the Internet and establishes Stephenson’s vision of what a digital world in the near future resembles. Today, the Metaverse is broadly defined as a fully-realized digital world that exists beyond the analog world we live in and refers to a variety of virtual experiences, environments and assets.

While the Metaverse is a far-reaching landscape, the freedom and encouragement to creatively innovate leaves everyone, from amateur designs to adept architects, an enormously untapped environment to build new worlds. 

What Architecture Looks Like in the Metaverse

Architecture in the Metaverse exhibits everything from fully-realized cities to intimate digital houses to virtual furniture pieces. Since the Metaverse is decentralized, meaning no one person or entity has control over the network, users have the ability to shape their 3D surroundings in any way imaginable. 

The majority of the digital creations in the Metaverse exist as NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, which certifies them as totally unique, in turn assigning them value. While NFTs are more generally associated with digital assets such as images, GIFs, songs and videos, they can also include forms of digital architecture, artwork and even land. 

In March 2021, Krista Kim sold the Metaverse’s first NFT-backed digital home, Mars House. Designed entirely by Kim, the virtual design which overlooks a mountain range mirrors her philosophy of meditative design. Color gradients ranging from fuchsia to turquoise fill the open-plan design and help characterize the house as a ‘light sculpture’ as Kim defines it. 

Other famous architectural designs in the Metaverse include Andrés Reisinger and Alba de la Fuente’s modernist Winter House, Bjarke Ingels Group’s Viceverse office space and Zaha Hadid Architects’ virtual city, Liberland Metaverse

Although fully digitized, architecture in the Metaverse is created with the same inspiration used in the construction of traditional architecture. And as the world and architectural landscape continue to change around us, more and more designers and architects will continue to find opportunities in virtual landscapes, constructing digital assets with a similar passion, vision and thoughtfulness found in the designs that surround us here on Earth.

The Synthesis of Art and Architecture

Art and architecture share a rich, timeless connection rooted in their design, creators and intended meaning. Both forms of expression become envisioned and constructed through similar principles, visual elements and ambition to engage with one’s senses. Today, we’re exploring this essential relationship and what happens when the two worlds collide. 

David Hovey Sr., FAIA, Optima’s CEO and Founder, says it best when describing the linkage between art – in particular, sculptures – and architecture, saying that “architecture is about function, as well as aesthetics, while sculpture is really just about aesthetics.”

Architecture is traditionally informed by functionality first, with aesthetics coming into play as with a significant role. Art, on the other hand, is commonly guided by aesthetics, without any burdens to deliver an object or outcome that is functional. However, both forms of expression are typically influenced by similar social and political factors that affect the environment surrounding the work or structure. 

Centuries-old cultural movements, including the Renaissance, where art imitated life and vice versa, demonstrate the linkage between art and architecture. However,  it wasn’t until the Avant-Garde movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that the integration of the two took a new meaning. 

This integration between the disciplines quickly became a core characteristic of modernism and modernist design, and is distinctly present in the work of some of the greatest architects and artists of the time period. Because artists use their art as a tool to shape emotions, modernism emerged as an expectation in which art and architecture would provide a new value when combined. 

Oscar Niemeyer Museum
The Oscar Niemeyer Contemporary Art Museum in Niterói exhibits the synthesis of art and architecture, displaying bold geometric forms, sculptural curves and vivid murals in a functional structure, reminiscent of a human eye. Credit: Rosa Menkman, Flickr Creative Commons, CC BY 2.0 Deed

The Bauhaus Movement was one of the first to introduce this idea, encouraging the unification of all arts and coupling aesthetics with the technology of the time. Notably, this ideology was cultivated through Le Corbusier’s use of painting and sculpture within his established concepts of architecture. Le Corbusier also argued that it was of equal importance to architects, painters and sculpturists to contribute constructive collaborations to the world by designing and creating in harmony with one another. 

Along with Le Corbusier, various other artists throughout the past century have tried to synthesize art and architecture throughout their work, particularly Oscar Niemeyer, Mies van der Rohe and Zaha Hadid. Today, architects and artists continue to collaborate and integrate their disciplines more than ever, exploring and expanding the dynamic relationship shared between the two.

The Intersection of Fashion and Architecture

Coco Chanel famously stated, “fashion is architecture, it’s a question of proportions.” While architecture can span hundreds of meters, fashion is typically crafted on a much smaller scale. Without question, however, both artful expressions involve a balance of creativity, functionality and innovation that often evolves with time. With our passion for architecture here at Optima, we’re exploring the inherent intersections between fashion and architecture, along with some talented creators who have discovered how to successfully cross the boundary that can separate the two.

An Affinity For Craftsmanship

The fields of architecture and fashion have been influenced by the same movements over time, including art, culture, economics, science and technology. And as various modernizations affecting form, materials, lighting and techniques for fabrication have changed our world, designers continue to adapt and innovate.

To be sure, designers and architects treat their creations as works of art, translating their emotions and visions through various acts of color, line, shape and form. Taking advantage of technological innovation, visionaries in both fields continue to share extraordinary new creations with the world through their exploration of glossiness, transparency, texture, color and structure. And in the process, they reinforce the intrinsic linkages between fashion and architecture that delight, surprise and inspire. 

Various selections from Virgil Abloh’s first Off-White collection, 2014

Individuals Who Have Found Success Crossing Fields

Countless individuals have elegantly walked the line between fashion and architecture. Some creatives first find themselves constructing shelters made of steel and wood but eventually shift to materials like cotton and silk for contrasting yet similar purposes. 

Virgil Abloh, the late Director of Louis Vuitton and Founder and CEO of Off-White, didn’t always work from a sewing machine. Abloh, who studied civil engineering and later received a master’s degree in architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology, often took inspiration from his past experiences in architecture to propel his career in the fashion industry, using materials and structures uncommon to traditional fashion design. In fact, Abloh credited the inspiration for his acclaimed debut Off-White collection to Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House and exhibited it with references to both Baroque and Bauhaus art. 

Louis Vuitton Icone Bag x Zaha Hadid, 2006

Zaha Hadid, one of the most influential and iconic architects in modern history, also successfully explored the dynamic relationship between architecture and fashion throughout her career. Known for her extensive use of curvature and emphasis on linework in architecture, Hadid brought her inspirations to the fashion world to design products that had not been explored before. Partnering with various luxurious fashion brands, including Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Lacoste, Hadid created ultra-modern bags, shoes and jewelry that fused signature elements of architecture and fashion. 

Today, countless fashion designers and architects continue to dismantle the boundaries between these disciplines with innovative constructions. Renowned fashion designer Iris van Herpen recently collaborated with Netherlands-based architecture firm Neutelings Riedijk Architects to transform the national research institute for biodiversity, Naturalis. Van Herpen was inspired by the museum’s collections, to replicate erosion patterns from the volcanic island of Lanzarote.

For decades, fashion designers and architects have crossed paths and shared similar inspirations within their designs – whether they know it or not. And for decades to come, these collaborations will continue to happen, expanding and advancing the fashion and architectural world.

Women in Architecture: Zaha Hadid

Breaking boundaries as the first woman to be awarded the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004, Zaha Hadid is recognized as one of the most exceptional designers in history, forging a legacy of innovation and individuality. Despite Hadid’s unexpected death in 2016, her legacy continues through the projects she designed.

Born October, 1950 in Baghdad, Iraq, Hadid studied mathematics as an undergraduate and went on to enroll at the Architectural Association School of Architecture. Hadid was advised under Dutch architect, Rem Koolhaas, who would later describe Hadid as one of the most exceptional students he ever taught.After graduating, Hadid moved to Rotterdam where she worked for Koolhaas at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA). In 1980, after becoming a naturalized citizen of the United Kingdom, Hadid opened her firm, Zaha Hadid Architects, which has developed high-profile and illustrious projects around the world. Hadid and her firm introduced audiences to a new way of conceptualizing modern architecture through extremely detailed sketches rather than postmodern designs.

After graduating, Hadid moved to Rotterdam where she worked for Koolhaas at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA). In 1980, after becoming a naturalized citizen of the United Kingdom, Hadid opened her firm, Zaha Hadid Architects, which has developed high-profile and illustrious projects around the world. Hadid and her firm introduced audiences to a new way of conceptualizing modern architecture through extremely detailed sketches rather than postmodern designs.

Vitra Fire Station, designed by Zaha Hadid. Credit: Mondo79 on Flickr Creative Commons, CC BY 2.0 Deed

Vitra Fire Station

The very first building complex designed by Hadid was the Vitra Fire Station, eventually launching her career. One of Hadid’s clients, Rolf Fehlbaum, the president-director of the furniture design firm, Vitra, invited her to design a fire station for his design museum. Building from 1991-1993, Hadid used raw concrete and glass that defined the sculptural building. The station, famous for the dramatic effect of its sharp diagonals converging at its center, only remained functional for a short period and now serves as an exhibit space.

The front of the MAXXI Museum.
MAXXI Museum, Zaha Hadid, Rome, 2010. Credit: Artur Salisz on Flickr Creative Commons, CC BY-NC 2.0 Deed

National Museum of Arts of the 21st Century (MAXXI)

One of Hadid’s more recent designs, the MAXXI was built between 1998 and 2010. The structure appears to be moving and flowing through space in spots, animated by Hadid’s ambition to create movement through the design. Hadid achieved this movement through curving, white walls and the placement of the building extending precariously out over five, thin pylons. Hadid explained that she wanted the design to invoke “confluence, interference, and turbulence.”

The Aquatic Centre in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, designed by Zaha Hadid, used for the 2012 Olympics, London, England, United Kingdom. Credit: Arne Müseler on Wikimedia Commons, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany license

London Aquatic Center

Tasked to design the aquatic center for the 2012 Summer Olympics, Hadid again turned to fluidity, this time the convergence of geometry and liquidity found in water. Hadid’s iconic design covers three stadium pools with a complex roof the shape of a parabolic arch dipping into the center that anyone would recognize. The structure was praised by critics for its success in mimicking the “floating” and “undulation” of water, as stated by Rowan Moore.

In addition to receiving the Pritzker Prize, Hadid was recognized with numerous other prestigious awards, including the Royal Institute of British Architecture’s Royal Gold Metal Award, an honor approved by Her Majesty The Queen, and the Jane Dew Prize; she was also appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire and was honored with a retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum.

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