Renowned Architecture Firm Designs Vice’s Newest Office… In The Metaverse

Image via Decentraland

More than devaluing the metaverse as a buzzword, Vice Media Group is going all in and has even engaged one of the most prolific names in the architecture world, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), to design a fully functioning office in the virtual space.

Located in open world Decentraland, the new ViceVerse will serve as an innovation lab for the company’s digital creative culture agency, Virtue Futures, and bring workers from all over into one borderless office.

Here, employees will focus on building digital products and services like non-fungible tokens, as well as hold meetings with colleagues and clients from around the world. As an exemplary hub, it will also be a gathering space for clients and partners interested in getting into the digital realm.

“It just made sense to make a space for ourselves where we can invite clients and collaborators to dip their toes in that space without actually doing a big-scale campaign,” Virtue Futures’ global executive creative director of innovation Morten Grubak tells Campaign magazine. “That’s why we set up an office.”

The big guns at BIG came in to design an abstract white building with contoured lines, with a tunnel as the doorway. Free from physical boundaries, the structure can carry multiple buildable levels—and even be filled with Easter eggs.

BIG unveils designs for Vice's new Decentraland headquarters 'Viceverse' https://t.co/KMmYHqAsqY@BIGstertweets @BjarkeIngels @Decentraland #Metaverse #DigitalArchitecture pic.twitter.com/T1F9XFrbz3

— Archinect (@archinect) March 2, 2022

“The space showcases a range of digital experiments, and has plenty of hidden extras for curious explorers—including a direct route for young creatives to reach a selection of highly acclaimed global Meta-Mentors,” Grubak shares with Dezeen.

Grubak says the building will start with two floors, including an NFT gallery on the first, “and a secret one as well.” Vice Media Group intends to keep adding to the space until there are 12 stories, each presenting as a unique catalyst for creativity.

[via Dezeen, Architect, Campaign, images via various sources]