On May 26, Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) introduced “Meta-Horizons: The Future Now,” the inaugural exhibition of Dongdaemun Design Plaza’s (DDP) new Design Museum in Seoul. The show, on view through September 18, examines ZHA’s pioneering work in three comprehensive zones: innovation, imagination, and interaction. It highlights, as well, the advancements of ZHA’s four research teams: computation and design; virtual reality; analytics and insights; and social interaction processes. And it introduces an important collaboration between Refik Anadol Studio (RAS) and ZHA with an immersive experience into the metaverse, combining cutting-edge elements of architecture, art, technology, and artificial intelligence.
Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects and Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul.
Photo by Kyungsub Shin, courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects, Refik Anadol Studio, and Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul.
Patrik Schumacher, Principal at Zaha Hadid Architects said, “DDP remains one of my most favorite projects. The pandemic has accelerated the trend towards the virtualization of life and society. Social communication in virtual space is often as productive as in physical space, and certainly no less real. The repertoire and design methodology of ZHA, and of parametricism in general, is well placed to run with the new design opportunities presented by the Metaverse.”
Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects and Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul.
Innovation, the first element of the exhibition, spotlights multi-disciplinary collaborations and research-based designs and prototypes. ZHA, a leading expert in architectural geometry, presents its sustainable and energy efficient projects. The Striatus—a 3-D printed concrete bridge—assists in the creation of customized modular homes, and represents the industry’s newfound focus on functional dexterity and rich individual user experiences.
Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects and Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul.
The imagination zone connects the physical world with the digital, showcasing ZHA’s intricate designing of the Metaverse. “NFTism” and “Liberland” examine architecture and social communication as part of a virtual gallery space and cyber urban incubator. The final element, interaction, introduces dynamic prospects in the technological advancement and interplay of cyber physical, mixed reality, and virtual realities. “Project Correl 1.0” presents an experiment in complex assemblies inside a virtual reality space. “New Worlds” uses leading-edge simulation for product and design development.
Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects and Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul.
“Architecting the Metaverse,” the special collaborative exhibition between ZHA and RAS, breaks new ground in the development of cultural spaces for both the physical world and the virtual one. Multi-model AI algorithms used for datasets have been transformed into immersive artwork, in which guests will have the opportunity to experience the first stages of the burgeoning metaverse.
Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects and Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul.
“DDP’s Seoul Light Festival was a turning point for our studio’s public art works, as well as our venture into the digital artworld of East Asia,” said Refik Anadol, Media Artist & Director of Refik Anadol Studio. “We developed a new vision and direction for our public art works during the pandemic and decided to focus on the healing qualities of art, especially when experienced collectively either in a physical or virtual space. This project for DDP bears traces of this vision. But more importantly, for the first time we are collaborating with a pioneering architecture studio.”
Photo by Kyungsub Shin, courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects, Refik Anadol Studio, and Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul.
Photo by Kyungsub Shin, courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects, Refik Anadol Studio, and Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul.
Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects and Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul.
