Architecting the Metaverse is an immersive art project at the intersection of architecture, art, technology, and artificial intelligence (AI). It is the result of a 6-month collaboration between Refik Anadol Studio (RAS) and ZHA.

In alignment with ZHA’s vision of creating transformative cultural spaces that work in synchronicity with their surroundings, RAS is revealing its most innovative experiments with architectural data both in the physical world and the metaverse. This artwork is experienced in an immersive room designed by ZHA in collaboration with RAS showcasing this experimental perspective of the Metaverse to come by merging machine learning, AI, and the aesthetics of ZHA’s works to date.

With this unique project, RAS & ZHA create an artwork that merges complexity with sublime aesthetics while simultaneously connecting various discourses in cyberphysical architecture and artificial intelligence. Architecting the Metaverse extends RAS Media Lab’s ongoing research project that and visualizes their entire database of architectural documentation in the oeuvre of ZHA. 

‘Multi-model’ AI algorithms have been utilized to analyse image and script data compiled and composed by ZHA. These algorithms result in comprehensive datasets that represent a portfolio of spatial designs spanning the built and the speculative. The curated outcomes of these analyses are projected on the mirrored walls of the immersive room – a structure specifically designed for Meta Horizons: The Future Now. Furthermore, the output of these algorithms have been 3d printed into a collection of models. These models are also displayed in the exhibition.

The immersive room integrates media into built forms, combining the boundlessness of space with the endless permutations of machine intelligence, inviting visitors to step into an infinitely reflecting mirrored tunnel that uses light, sound, and technology to create a seismic perception shift.

This project also marks the first collaboration between ZHA & RAS – each pioneer in their respective fields of architecture, art, and technology. Architecting the Metaverse will be the first of its kind in making the machine dream about ZHA architectural works around the world, presented through an immersive spatial experience generated by ZHA’s venerated designs and AI.