Democratizing Reality: Designing for VR, AR, and the Metaverse
Architecture shapes our lives every day, but how can it be decentralized? At the heart of the effort to design extended reality (XR) environments is the desire to make these projects more human and recognizable. As technologists, architects and users themselves develop new tools for the metaverse, as well as augmented and virtual spaces, new projects are increasingly democratized and open source† At the same time, the design process is redesigned.
Mixed reality and virtual worlds share a common goal of creating a well-constructed environment based on human emotions, sensations and connection. Between ideas of augmentation and immersion, these projects are often made in the hands of specialists from different technological fields. As they shape reality, what happens if anyone can be a designer? While reality is defined as the ‘actual state of affairs’, it also extends to spaces, facts and events as a whole. This state of affairs is changing within a spectrum of ‘real’ and virtual environments created by new voices.
Cyberpunk authors of the 20th century such as Gibson and Stephenson envisioned an internet with virtual reality, and in his novel Snow Crash Stephenson called it the Metaverse. In architecture and technology, the term ‘virtual’ is increasingly associated with reality alongside the idea of a fully virtual metaverse. As these ‘realities’ continue to evolve, it will revolutionize architecture, engineering and construction. This evolution also includes MR (Mixed Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality). Each offers benefits that were barely imaginable a few years ago. Projects can be run through before they are built, interiors can be visualized before all details are determined and customers and users can create their own designs.
As architectural designer Xiaohang Hou outlined, the infinite nature of XR space allows people to interact with the virtual world through the real world, changing the demand for public space and making urban design more complex. “When people see metaverse architecture as an extension of the real world, it affects their perceptions and expectations, triggering a real world revolution.” The following articles examine the fusion and democratization of XR, as well as its metaverse and new technologies, and delve into how more people are getting involved in the expression and design of architecture.
Whatever you do, technology probably gives you a better way to do it. That is the prevailing wisdom at Perkins+Will architecture firm. While many design practices cling to old ways of working, Perkins+Will is constantly mining technology for innovations to make architecture easier, faster and better. Perkins+Will is driven to test and apply many next-generation innovations throughout its 82-year history, the most recent of which are: big data; virtual, mixed and augmented reality; and generative and computational design. Learning from his experiments can help a company take advantage of new opportunities and reconcile old practices with new thinking.
You might get a sense of what life in the metaverse could be like from movies like “Ready Player One” and “Matrix”, where anything we can imagine can exist, and we can always connect to the metaverse to make our real extend life with extraordinary experiences. There are many articles that give different definitions and standards for the metaverse, and here are two favorite ones: The Metaverse: what it is, where to find it, who will build it and Fortnite and State of the Metaverse 2021†
The importance of using advanced technologies such as virtual reality in the architecture scene is becoming increasingly necessary. As beautiful as a rendered image may be, it will always lack the capacity to fully convey the scope and feel of a project as a whole, further perpetuating the need to integrate the use of these technologies at a professional practice level. Architects who choose not to incorporate the use of virtual reality technologies into their design process fall victim to a significant disadvantage.
Shifts in technology reflect how designers create experiences of architecture and cities. New developments lead to new ways of working and in turn shape our design process. As a practice defined by pushing boundaries, experimenting with workflows and embracing new design technologies, Morphosis has a forty-year history of enthusiastic wonder about the future, researching and developing immersive experiences (XR) with new technologies.
Fologram recently built the world’s first pavilion-scale steel structure using the HoloLens, demonstrating the possibilities of integrating standard CAD workflows with augmented reality. By rendering the generative design model through holographic instructions instead of traditional 2D drawings, it explores the potential to revolutionize the bridge between design and construction.
Remote working has accelerated the introduction of new approaches to real-time rendering, giving birth to a new necessity: how can a person feel physically present in a space, without actually being there? Ultimately, designers resorted to the virtual world, a vast realm of interactive built environments accessible from the comfort of your own home. We have become accustomed to building, modifying and navigating between different environments, going back and forth between what is real and what is not. The truth is that virtual has become the new normal.
This article is part of the ArchDaily topics: Democratization of Design† Each month we delve deeper into a topic through articles, interviews, news and projects. Learn more about our ArchDaily topics† As always, we at ArchDaily welcome contributions from our readers; if you want to submit an article or project, Contact us†