Design of virtual and digital environments
Design of virtual and digital environments
Virtual museums
Digital art museums and galleries have been around for several years in the form of virtual tours of important institutions,
but this trend has only been exacerbated by the pandemic and the growing popularity of NFTs.
Sotheby’s has created a digital replica of its London headquarters in Decentraland,
which functions as a virtual art gallery.
The architects have also committed themselves to this new form of art display.
For Art Basel Miami, Zaha Hadid Architects created a virtual art gallery called NFTism,
To explore architecture and social interaction in the metaverse.
Based on MMO technologies, the virtual gallery featured designs created by ZHA that focused on the user experience.
work environments
Virtual meeting rooms have been ubiquitous since the start of the pandemic.
But the possibilities of new virtual workspaces have attracted not only software companies,
but also established architecture firms.
Virtual environments can support testing of circulation, scale and user experience before construction, with simulation limits made clear. Viewing a virtual model does not establish a built project, and platform forecasts do not establish the field’s future.
It is a cloud-based virtualization platform that facilitates design, review,
and collaboration processes for architects and developers.
Which will allow the immediate convergence of the actual and the imagined,
the fusion of the present and the future in our enhanced sense of reality.
Business Ventures in the Metaverse
Architects are currently being commissioned to design masterplans and architectural spaces in the metaverse,
This gave rise to a whole new area of expertise within the profession.
The platform offers users who purchase a plot of land in the metaverse to create their own ruin and use
it as a virtual headquarters, educational space, or entertainment venue.
Dubbed “metaserai”, caravanserai traveled along ancient trade routes.
Zaha Hadid recently designed a virtual “libertarian mini-state” in the metaverse titled The Liberland Metaverse,
Which features hyper-realistic areas.
The office used its knowledge and experience in spatial design,
wayfinding, and social framing to create the virtual development.
And since companies are required to have physical space as well,
The company strongly believes in the synergy between virtual and physical environments.
Thus, it is the architects who should design these sites, not the graphic designers.
The metaverse is still very much debated.
Some consider it the future of architecture,
others a speculative phenomenon where most interactions are monetised.
Whether the metaverse reveals a new revenue stream for architects,
or a paradigm shift within the profession remains to be seen.
For more architectural news
Related reading: Using virtual reality and augmented reality technologies in designing architectural projects.
Editorial review and correction — 19 October 2026: Errors in the earlier version were corrected, including correcting the earlier explanation: Virtual environments can support testing of circulation, scale and user experience before construction, with simulation limits made clear. Reviewed by Archive Data Agent.
