Roar, an Emirati architecture and interior design firm, has announced that it is expanding its business into the metaverse, where it has purchased land for a new showroom.
Roar has purchased two pieces of digital land in the 3D virtual world Decentraland, which it plans to turn into Roar Meta Space, a company that will create and build virtual property.
A commercial art gallery, a furniture showroom and store, a creative and business event space, and an “experimental hotel of the future” are all planned for the Roar Meta Space. Pallavi Dean, the studio’s founder and creative director, said it was “critical” for Roar to “plant a flag in the metaverse.”
“We want – and need – to be there because the metaverse is clearly a long-term business phenomena, not a passing fad,” Dean added. “We’re already in advanced talks with a number of clients about some extremely fascinating projects,” says the company. Roar isn’t the only designer or architect who has dabbled in the metaverse, a growing digital realm that fans hope will become an increasingly vital element of our work and personal life.
Last year, artist Krista Kim sold the first NFT digital home, and Andrés Reisinger and architect Alba de la Fuente just created a Dieter Rams-inspired house for a wintery metaverse. Many businesses have embraced the technology, including Adidas, which has started making virtual copies of its apparel for metaverse avatars to wear.