NFT architecture is a term used to describe architecture composed of non-physical forms. Digital building blocks can be manipulated and changed according to the creator’s vision. NFT architecture may also include electronics that allow interactive experiences with physical spaces and digital projections to create the illusion of presence in remote locations.
In the future, physical buildings constructed from degradable and synthetic materials will have a more static and limited life. Shortly, facilities may not even have a physical form. They will exist as digital projections in real space – or at least this is what some architects predict.
What are Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs)?
A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unit of data that authenticates digital property as a unique asset and, therefore, is not interchangeable. To give a more explicit definition, examples of non-fungible assets are land or cars because they have singular qualities that add or remove perceived value. Money is fungible because a trade can exchange it for different denominations of equal value. For instance, two 50-peso bills can exchange for a 100-peso note. You can pay for an NFT with Ether (ETH), the unique cryptocurrency used in the open-source software platform and operating system Ethereum. The value of 1.0 ETH at the time of writing is $3657.78 (USD) or around ₱186,716.87 (PHP).
NFTs have existed since 2014, and lately, they are becoming a mainstream medium for buying and selling digital media.
What NFTs Represent
NFTs represent various forms of digital media, such as images, videos, audio, illustrations, games, tweets, memes, and anything that can be stored digitally and may have some market value. They are like art collections, but you get a digital image file instead of a tactile oil painting in a wooden frame.
But if NFTs are supposed to be unique, won’t it be easy to duplicate digital assets?
One of the most remarkable characteristics of non-fungible tokens is their inability to be copied. While you cannot duplicate a painting, one may photograph it and share it with others. While it is illegal to reproduce a piece of music, it is possible to record it and share the recording with the world. NFTs are tokenized in a blockchain and cannot be falsified or stolen, unlike tangible property.
Like authentic art prints are created, bought, duplicated, and sold, the value will always differ from the original. Right-clicking and saving NFT digital assets will not hold the data that authenticates it as part of the ETH blockchain.
Artists market their digital work on a specific NFT online marketplace, depending on their media type. For instance, if an artist or company designs digital trading cards, Myth Market is the recommended online marketplace. Artists who create digital art, comics, or eBooks market their craft on Rarible. But generally, NFT Marketplaces are platforms where artists, collectors, and cryptocurrency investors converge.
Bridging the Gap Between Art and Architecture
Architects would define architecture as composing, programming, and realizing the built environment within a physical domain.
Architectural projects are a product of service. In a professional setting, the service must comply with clients’ or the community’s needs. Any architectural study’s main thrust is the practicality of the design form and how it responds to factors. The art or self-expression of the architect is becoming less of a priority. This parody is the difference between art and architecture.
The First NFT Architecture Sold
Recently, artist Krista Kim signed up for an NFT marketplace called SuperRare, where she sold the first-ever NFT digital house for $500,000. She asked an architect to help her with the design and programming of the Mars House floor plans and model. The digital home sits on rocky mountain terrain. Translucent glass formed the walls, roof, flooring, and furniture. The artist intended the house to be an illuminated sculpture, so the floor and ceiling glowed with gradients of colors, saturating the reflective sets of furniture. Kim envisioned Mars House as having a meditative environment that she could easily access on her phone as an escape from the real world. She hopes the new owner appreciates the thought and effort she puts into her art.
A video game development platform called Unreal Engine rendered the 3D model. Features of this software allow people to experience the Mars House in Virtual Reality (VR) and through Augmented Reality (AR) apps on phones or tablets.
The Mars House sale sparked NFT buyers’ interest in virtual design and architecture, encouraging interior designers and architects to start marketing their work. Designer Andrés Reisinger, for instance, sold virtual furniture for almost $450,000. Artist Alexis Christodoulou sold architectural renderings for $340,000.
Not only did the sale of the Mars House prove that digital architecture has real-world value, but also that art and architecture are one.
NFT Architecture
With the advent of online marketplaces and cryptocurrency, NFT opens up alternatives to market and monetize architectural work. Collectors, investors, and art enthusiasts are interested in more theoretical results or conceptual architecture applications. To meet that demand, artists, architects, and design firms can pursue virtual projects inspired by a fresh creative and artistic spirit unconstrained by real-world limitations, a new architectural style that can only survive in digital space – NFT Architecture. Site inspections, building permits, client requirements, project feasibilities, and budgets are no longer as detrimental to the design process. Architects have more control over the project’s outcome with better creative freedom.
The opportunity reminds us that architecture’s core identity is an art expression and reintroduces the architect’s role as an artist. The first architects in the world, after all, were renowned artists. NFT architecture can potentially provide architects and design firms with alternative sources of revenue by marketing their work on online platforms as digital art.
The Unbuilt Environment: Virtual Real Estate
With NFT Architecture as a real possibility, the next question is the implications on real estate. NFTs can also represent metaverses, virtual worlds, and virtual real estate. In the NFT space, SuperWorld, and Somnium Space are platforms where you can buy, sell, and collect virtual parcels of land. Other platforms, such as Decentraland, The Sandbox, and Cryptovoxels, allow users to purchase land, build stores or art galleries, and communicate with self-created avatars, which provide more interactive and immersive experiences. These platforms sell $1.5 to 2.8 million worth of virtual land in monthly transactions. The active users in these metaverses are a potential market for NFT Architectural work, hiring architects to design a building in their virtual land and engage in digital architecture projects. Virtual worlds and the NFT architecture provide the framework for such scenarios.
NFT Architecture is a novel technology that can create meaningful applications in the construction industry. The benefits of NFT are numerous, but one of the most important benefits is its ability to provide a more immersive experience for architects, designers, builders, and users.
Architects and developers have enjoyed the forming of physical environments over centuries. But this generation may face a new and exciting realm of virtual real estate: NFT Architecture and the Unbuilt Environment.
