Leading architectural firms Grimshaw, HWKN, WHY, and Farshid Moussavi have responded to an invitation from the metaverse Pax.world and designed original social spaces for it.
The metaverse refers to a virtual space where people interact with each other and digital objects through their avatars using virtual reality technology.
Frank Fitzgerald, the founder of Pax.world, noted that this metaverse for adults allows people to trade, communicate, and explore cultural treasures on a virtual platform.
After aligning their creative ideas with Frank Fitzgerald, the aforementioned architectural firms created incredible social spaces for Pax.world. They drew inspiration from the archetypes of the ancient Silk Road, such as caravanserais, deserts, oases, and the tree of life.
Each architectural firm designed its own so-called metasaray along the Silk Road. In these social spaces, metaverse users will be able to meet, conduct commercial transactions, and attend cultural events, as reported by Dezeen.
Here, people become the brightest versions of themselves
Pax.world founder Frank Fitzgerald began engaging designers and architects to create spaces in the metaverse during the COVID-19 lockdown. It was during this time that he became frustrated with the shortcomings of video conferencing for business and communication.
Now, his metaverse has already garnered numerous awards and is vying for the title of the world’s first true virtual society. The social spaces created by Pax.world—known as metasarays—offer users the chance to attend concerts, exhibitions, lectures, parties, and festivals in fantastic virtual buildings.
The Grimshaw studio designed its space based on data generated through user interaction. The stunning rectangular metasaray, crafted by the studio’s architects, hovers in the air. Visitors enter through spherical gates. This virtual space is primarily intended for business and cultural interactions, Grimshaw explained.
Architects from HWKN proposed a design for a multi-level hexagonal space set in the desert. This structure features a giant amphitheater for concerts, wall-less art galleries, and open-air conference rooms.
In the metasaray designed by Farshid Moussavi Architecture, event spaces are arranged around three large circular courtyards. The buildings have mirrored facades that reflect the surrounding landscapes.
Experts from WHY designed a space for art galleries featuring an interactive blooming garden, stones, waterfalls, and a tree of life at its center. This tree grows outward through an opening in the roof, and the structure is surrounded by pools with islands.
According to WHY representative Andriy Stoich, these spaces are meant to be places where people can become the brightest versions of themselves.
Pax.world will continue to eagerly invite designers and architects to create social structures in the metaverse.
It’s worth noting that Oxford University Press named the metaverse the second most popular word of 2022, with “goblin mode” taking the top spot.