“All Architects and Interior Designers let’s gear up to revolutionise, create and acknowledge the parallel universe, the METAVERSE.”

Introduction

The most in-trend word doesn’t require an introduction rather it becomes a topic of discussion. The echoing word, METAVERSE, is a new sensation of upcoming decades with unpredictable results, repercussions and development. People define the metaverse as a new technological era within but I am not petrified to define it as the “game changer for the field of architecture and interior design”.

Architects and interior designers create the spaces to live and rejoice in comfort while making it look beautiful but all these are explained through 2D drawings and sketches, with emerging times 3D visualizations through images and videos but have ever thought to experience it in reality without actually developing it in the real world and experiencing it in the virtual world, that’s the edge where “technology meets design & architecture”, emerging as a parallel universe of design called METAVERSE.

Exploring, reading and educating about the metaverse is itself boisterous as the metaverse is shaping its niche within.

Metaverse

“Everything about Metaverse is one big educated guess based on what we’ve seen and predict might happen to the interior and architecture industry.”

In the early 1980s when the internet came into our lives, people were merely aware of how to use, explore, and make it a source of income, entertainment yet making an important tag of everyone’s life these days the same fortune in can be seen forth for metaverse, new to everyone, some are knowing its worth and meaning, some discussing the exact meaning some debating upon and some celebrating it, yet spreading its worth already all around. 

Idea Of Metaverse

People think Metaverse arose suddenly when Mark Zuckerberg CEO of Meta ( earlier Facebook ) changed the name to META, but the reality is, the concept of meta was earlier discovered and is now manifested by others. This virtual world concept was initially mentioned by Neal Stephenson in his so-called science fiction novel “Snow Crash” sowing the seed of hypothetical imaging, yet experiencing the virtual reality of the universe.  

Movies, cartoons, fiction and fantasy novels appear to be so unreal at times and beyond our imagination that it is hard to believe it in the practical real world and at the end, we usually blow the air off by saying it’s a visual treat that cannot happen in reality. 

But at times I realise how these stories are built-up, how we get engaged and emotionally connected with them and what I found is nothing strange, it happens because the scripter and writers despite being the same human gifted with the same power of imagination have the expertise to make that imagination a visual treat, hence creating those unrealistic things which prevail in the world but it is at hide & seek mode with each other, or maybe unexplored.

This is exactly the concept of metaverse doing, prevailing in the world in imagination in fiction, and fantasy novels but the real aroma of it will spread its fragrance when it is on the urge of becoming as large as internet these days. Quite interesting! excited to explore more?

AR, VR & MR

Every deep concept is enrooted yet entangled within its subtitles but here being the case of the metaverse, a growing concept consciousness needs to be crystal clear, because ultimately whoever is working on it these days is the educator of the same in forthcoming years.  

Metaverse’s literal meaning lies within, it says “beyond”, making it beyond imagination, beyond space, and beyond technology which is led by these 3 traits of the metaverse, AR- Augmented Reality, VR- Virtual Reality and  MR- Mixed Reality.

Augmented Reality

We cannot imagine life without technology reaching from a stage of  technology  being a facility to a necessity and now metaverse from emerging technology will reach to efficient one in coming decades, hence in today’s scenario nobody is unknown with the game wonders of technology be it PUBG, Fortnite or  Roblox, technology making money, technology acknowledging the knowledge and power of media but all these in a more  advanced and visually appealing, interactive and  informative way but not in a virtual sense, 

Mark Zuckerberg addressed the assembly by saying,

“Today, I think we LOOK AT  internet, but I think in future you’re  going to 

BE IN  the experiences.”  

Augmented reality is one such substrate of metaverse letting you experience putting on virtual objects in the real world, just like Pokemon GO or a Snapchat- Instagram feature of adding filters, a small example of a huge concept behind. In more justifiable and technical words AR is that technology which overlays the digital environment to real-world making it participate through smartphones, tablets, Ipads, specialised glasses called AR glasses and many more emerging tools for AR experience which are either unidentified, unexplored and making there way to be recognised in the parallel universe, the metaverse. 

“I’m excited about augmented reality because virtual reality, which closes the world out, AR allows individuals to be present in the world but hopefully allows an improvement on what’s happening presently.”

-Tim Cook 

Apple’s CEO 

Virtual Reality

A level-up experience into an immersive virtual world and this time it is not only visually appealing rather it is the time to submerge and experience the virtual world wearing a broad and thicker impairment blocking your vision from the real world by acquiring a 120-degree angle of vision called VR headset, yes you read the right full immersive experience of the virtual world and that’s coined as Virtual Reality or VR. 

Going in technically, when a user puts on a head-mounted display or VR headset they sense and their brain interprets to be moving in the virtual scenario. 

But here the question arises that we can just see those beautiful advancements of the virtual world and if we are just seeing how could it be beneficial if we don’t have hand or body movement it is rather a movie-going if we aren’t interacting the way we want it, here comes in the device called controller, adding up to its features, it allows you to interact, to and fro movement in the virtual world and make alteration in the virtual world. Virtual reality started when the gaming world took an advance and is now welcomed by every industry be it military, engineering and architecture, healthcare, business and many more. 

“Don’t get lost in virtual reality, remember that you can unplug at any time.”

The journey of the making of VR headset began with google cardboard by google (the most affordable one ) to oculus rift by meta  (the most expensive one ) and there is some yet to be developed and unfolded within. Wearing a VR headset, adding a smartphone to your VR and carrying that controller in your hands and now controlling the parallel universe, being it a gaming experience, creating and designing architecture and interior of parallel universe, taking healthcare and raising the level for medication, yes all can happen in virtual reality. 

Virtual reality and metaverse are at very initial stages they require correct water and nourishment i.e. research and resources to strengthen their roots and grow as huge as they can as I firmly believe that sky will be the limit for metaverse in the coming years. 

Difference Between AR & VR 

These two subheadings of the metaverse are nevertheless having different technology followed, and different introductions needed, are also distinguished by the technology of developing them but still lie under the huge canopy, of the metaverse. They are majorly differentiated by their purpose of usage AR adds virtual things to the real world while VR let us move into and experience the virtual world. 

Mixed Reality

As the name itself is self-explanatory, mixing both real and virtual world scenarios giving a complete blend of technology and realism is mixed reality or MR. MR also allow us to talk, and exchange thoughts with the characters of the virtual world famously called AVATARS (the name being picked up for Hindu religious books like Ramayan & Mahabharat ). 

Writing about this is manifesting within so just think about when we will experience it and how it is going to be an upside-down version of extended and advanced technology. 

In the same way in VR, MR also has a headset wearable which allows you to step into a parallel universe and interact with the avatars of a parallel universe. 

MR is the new strength of coming decades of technology which is still to be unfolded by many tech burners as it hasn’t reached the non-tech burners, unlike the internet. I can sum up this information of metaverse and its substrate AR, VR & MR by saying, 

“We’re moving from passive digital to a purely experiential, to your body, to your psyche, these experiences are very real.”

Architecture & Interior design @ METAVERSE

Architecture and interior design are at their growing stage in India inclusive of all metro cities and the urge to become metro cities at this stage of growth if a introduce new technology in it, may imbalance the harmony of these two industries, but what if we cordially move both technology and construction hand in hand? What if we introduce technology as well as architects and interior designers introduce the design? What if we explain the design made by architects and interior designers with the support of technology to make it more communicable, understandable and visually explainable? These all questions when answered would justify the title. 

Early Course of Action for Explaining Design

Every industry evolves with time, time is best for growth and healing so as with these two professions. When we go down into the lane of those days of early architecture, not going too dwon the lane just 15-20 years ago we found that the computer had stepped in, software like AutoCAD had been introduced with the feature of explaining the designs, discussing the layout of spaces, creating a 2D presentational drawing of that space imaged by designers and it was all going fine.

But somewhere in those lanes of 2D presentation had a big opening way towards 3D VISUALIZATION of the design which was a manifesting lane everything appeared in depth in the 3rd dimension, introducing perspective views which were done earlier on paper but now it is with technology shaking hands with the construction industry and evolved as a byproduct called 3d- views of spaces imagined, walkthrough motions of a bigger zone and light effects was the cherry on the cake of these 3d views and walkthroughs which not only added an element but magnify it to look more beautiful and a designer’s piece. 

And now its the high time a climb a step, take a leap and shift the vision to a parallel universe making it more advancing, manifesting and feeling the real essence of space designed because for designers their design is everything, and I as a designer will get a way to make it look as good as it has been in my imagination I would grab it and serve it to my client. 

Equipment & Tools to Upgrade Architecture & Interior design into Metaverse

Every advancement involves tips, tricks and tools to boost its roots just like fertilizer and manure do to boost the tree. Architects and interior designers are imaginative they can imagine a whole of their perspective vision and portray the same in the real world but somewhere explanations of those imagined pieces lied, earlier it had been done by sketches, 2D drawings of layouts and wall elevation but the fact was they weren’t the artists who could portray the rear image of imagination to a real one they needed some technological tools for those imaginative pieces to publicize. 

Introduction of software like BIM, REVIT, GOOGLE SKETCHUP, and 3DS MAX for modelling the spaces and rendering software to induce lighting, texture and shadow effect VRAY and LUMION are introduced, which every year gets updating from respective brainchildren of them to be in the market of software and architects and interior designers first choice. 

But metaverse a new concept within introducing our interaction with the virtual world undoubtedly needed something beyond the limit because this not-so-old software has its limitations. Hence tech companies from all over the world are pushing themselves to create and built apps to rejuvenate these fields which will prove the statement “technology meets the construction industry”. 

The major research has found that gaming software 3DS MAX  or UNITY GAME ENGINE can be used by meta-architects or meta-interior designers at an initial level just to uncover the title of metaverse introducing in architecture and interior designing field but for this, we need a grip for understanding the computer language like C#, C++ etc. which is yet another difficult task, as these two industries are itself very complicating in managing and multitasking now by the introduction of the metaverse and computing language it is going to be more tricky. 

So rather than keeping it as a tricky factor, tech burners and architects and interior designers are going into that deep lane which is easy yet adaptable by meta architects and meta interior designers, which will not only add the surplus amount to their pockets but will also let their client feel the space designed.