Creative ways architecture firms are getting involved in the NFT space | Ingram Yuzek Gainen Carroll & Bertolotti, LLP
As we’ve all undoubtedly heard by now, NFTs are the latest craze – and they’re everywhere! The architectural industry is no exception. Like many other creatives, architects have engaged in the NFT space in interesting and exciting ways. This article explores just a few examples of notable ways architects and architectural firms have begun to incorporate NFTs and the metaverse into their practice.
Kisho Kurokawa Architect and Associates’ Nakagin Capsule Tower
Demolition began on the iconic Nakagin Capsule Tower Building last spring, much to the dismay of conservationists, former residents and other architecture enthusiasts. The tower, which consisted of 140 modular capsules, was considered to be “the embodiment of a bold architectural vision: organic growth and extreme flexibility”. Originally built in Tokyo in the 1970s and designed for the capsules to be replaced every 25 years, the tower had since fallen into disrepair and necessitated demolition. However, through the use of the innovative technology behind NFTs and the metaverse, the tower will live on. Kisho Kurokawa Architect and Associates, the studio of the tower’s original designer, and investment firm Laetoli have launched a sale of two NFTs: one will give the buyer the rights to rebuild the tower anywhere in the world, and the other will give the buyer the rights to rebuild the tower in the metaverse. Upon rebuilding, purchasers of NFT with metaverse rights will have unfettered creative freedom to redesign and rebuild the tower as desired; however, the purchaser of the NFT with real rights will be required to show the proposed scheme to Kisho Kurokawa Architect and Associates for approval prior to reconstruction. Buyers of both NFTs will also have the right to lease or sell them to others, which will allow multiple versions of the tower to be rebuilt around the world (and the metaverse).
Zaha Hadid Architects Liberland Metaverse City
The well-known studio in the UK, Zaha Hadid Architects, has made headlines several times over the past year with its various projects involving NFTs and the metaverse. Among these is Zaha Hadid Architects’ design of a city in the metaverse, Liberland. The design concept for this metaverse city was revealed earlier this year and includes a town hall, plaza and exhibition center, among other virtual buildings, all designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, and is intended as a template to aid in the development of the physical Free Republic of Liberland , a sovereign state of 7 km2 located between Croatia and Serbia. According to the official website of the Free Republic of Liberland, the Liberland Metaverse is designed to be a crypto hub and a virtual representation of the libertarian micronation. Buyers of the virtual plots of land in the Liberland Metaverse will also have a stake in the virtual city.
PLP Architecture’s NFT collection
London-based studio, PLP Architecture has teamed up with VerseProp, a metaverse real estate platform, to launch a collection of 5,000 NFT skyscrapers with the aim of “bridge[ing] the gap between those interested in both digital and physical property.” In addition to receiving the ownership rights to the animated digital skyscraper artwork associated with their NFT, each purchaser of an NFT from PLP’s collection will also receive exclusive content, which may include access to webinars, physical artwork, and even the ability to design their own metaverse building with PLP.
These are just a few of the notable NFT and metaverse projects from members of the AEC industry that have launched in the past year, but as you can see, architects, designers, architectural firms and others in the industry are not shying away from the metaverse. . What exciting new NFT projects do you think will launch next? Stay tuned to Ingram’s NFT Newsroom to learn more about the latest developments in the metaverse and to keep a virtual eye on what exciting new NFT projects the AEC industry is launching next.
