Meta Rome

Finding and making

This thesis is a multidirectional exploration involving technology, human interaction and urban behaviour. The research methods evolved continuously as the technology developed. The study starts with an analysis and criticises precedents to investigate a better understanding of the Real Word Metaverse from an architectural perspective. The creative component applies to urban observation, collage making and Artificial Intelligence (AI) drawing to study the potential value of space during the research process. Alongside this, there is a series of activities testing which analyses the spacial impact of digital overlap on a body scale. The design involved AI technology as a part of the creative process, reconsidering the position of an architect in a spatial computing era. The thesis speculates and analyses future implementations of AR in a series of urban components, including paths, edges, districts, nodes and landmarks. It explores the spatial possibilities and potential chaos while proposing a plausible operating system to manipulate the digital overlap to provide a better spatial experience.

Final outcome

The final demonstration is an AR app that displays several versions of digital information on top of three white paper models. The models are the Colosseum, the Trajan Market and the street of Ostia Antica as architectural prototypes from ancient Rome, representing three types of public spaces in contemporary urban form. The presentation illustrates a vision where the Real World Metaverse develops a symbiotic relationship between the physical world and the digital twins. It shows up as a sample of the future urban environment, where the city is diverse and interacts with the user. At the same time, rules and regulations are compulsory to limit this freedom to maintain a fundamental perception of the real world. The overlap enriches our reality and shifts it beyond its physical functions, allowing a series of new activities to unlock an advanced public space.

Colosseum

Trajan Market

Ostia Antica

This thesis explores future urban environments, which will be antiquated with the development of technologies. However, this research pushes architects to review the traditional design process and predict potential issues.