The Creatorverse Buildathon, the first global architectural design competition held by Decentraland, the world’s largest metaverse platform, in collaboration with Parcel, a virtual real estate trading platform, recently concluded. CAA LAB Metaverse Planning Bureau, led by Liu Haowei, created five virtual architectural art works that all won awards. Unlike other metaverse-themed architectural design competitions, this competition was entirely operated under the support of blockchain technology, from registration to selection. The winning works can be displayed and used on the Decentraland platform. As the world’s largest metaverse platform, Decentraland encourages architects worldwide to come to the virtual world and work with technicians to create a parallel world for humanity, exploring new models for the development and construction of the metaverse. The hope is that by leveraging professionals’ understanding, translation, and shaping of space, the virtual land value of the metaverse can be further enhanced and more urban functions can be explored. The five works by CAA LAB Metaverse Planning Bureau, Original Rock, Beehive Tower, Transformed Cube, A Growing Egg, and Flotage, stood out in the judging and became the only virtual architect team in the world to have multiple works simultaneously awarded. Original Rock: Original Rock is a smooth rock-like structure that floats in mid-air, giving off a sense of primal nature while also transcending nature itself. The large sky curtain has multiple functions, serving as an electronic screen, a natural background for stage performances, and a holographic dry plate for holographic projection. A sky ladder connects to the interior of the building, with a sense of Greek tragedy’s destiny and poetic cinema. Beehive Tower: The tower is shaped like a honeycomb, made up of a series of orderly arranged floating islands in mid-air. The spiral staircase is like a giant maze, connecting the floating islands. In addition to the stairs, the building also has a more convenient transportation system – a hexagonal lift suspended in the center of the tower. Each hexagonal platform in the matrix can float and move, giving users a great degree of freedom in their experience. Transformed Cube: The building dissolves the definition of space up and down, inside and out, as defined by the real world. The exterior is a transparent cube, and the interior space is folded by a curved surface. People can walk freely to every interconnected surface, and the space up and down, left and right, inside and out is not differentiated, making the space experience novel and rich. A Growing Egg: The entire building follows a flowing trend, naturally rotating and growing from the ground. From the steps to the viewing platform, to the activity space, the scale of the space grows larger with the flow trend. These activity spaces also enclose the central performance space. Although the interior space is all made up of steps, it presents a gradual change in pace according to the flow trend, distinguishing different areas and then enriched by the users’ functional changes. Flotage: The diamond-shaped building quietly floats on the grass. The suspended transparent steps extend from four sides, and the interplay of light and shadow awakens one’s religious emotions. The inability to see the interior at a glance further creates a sense of mysticism for the building. The interior spiral staircase breaks away from the rigid exterior, like a soft mother, enveloping the interior space. The stairs have a translucent texture, and the color changes according to the performance needs. The Creatorverse Buildathon is a testament to the growing influence of the metaverse on architecture and design. With projects like these, it is clear that the metaverse is no longer just a place for games and entertainment, but a platform for creativity and innovation. As the metaverse continues to evolve, we can expect to see even more innovative and exciting architectural projects in the future. A total of 30 entries were shortlisted and awarded globally. Click on the video below to watch!
Project Information:
The Creatorverse Buildathon is a global architectural design competition held by Decentraland, the world’s largest metaverse platform, in collaboration with Parcel, a virtual real estate trading platform. CAA LAB Metaverse Planning Bureau, led by Liu Haowei, created five virtual architectural art works that all won awards. The winning works can be displayed and used on the Decentraland platform.
