Dear mArchitects,
Congratulations!
The MUA Design Contest x Ultiverse "Build Your Meta-skyline" competition has come to a successful conclusion.
This competition is aimed to design a unique, technologically advanced, and futuristic Urban Design for Terminus City, the city of the future. The winning entry will serve as a reference for the construction of the Terminus City in Ultiverse and will become a tangible representation of this meta-city.
Despite the challenges faced throughout the competition, including misunderstandings, disputes, and last-minute changes to the competition rules, our community, and esteemed judges provided strong support that enabled the final identification of the exceptional entries.
Here, we would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all members of the community and judges who devoted their time and energy to this competition. Our heartfelt thanks go out to all participants who submitted their remarkable works in the MUA DAO Design Contest x Ultiverse "Build Your Meta Skyline" city planning competition. We are deeply appreciative of the judges who provided insightful and professional evaluations of the entries.
We will send the award certificate to the participating wallet in the form of NFT, and attach a copy to the award notification email. Participants can submit their wallet address used to receive the bonus when they receive the email.
The detailed introduction and jury comments on the entries will be presented in the latter part of this article. The list of expert jury members who participated in this competition will also be published.
I. First Prize (1 in total)
The Ultiverse CIty BY Marsko666 Team
Entry’s link:
Entry’s presentation:
Jury’s comment:
This proposal is one that answers most questions. The jury committee appreciates the effortless touch on key NYC urban characters with unconventional reinterpretations. One jury pointed out the use of the NYC grid system, which was given a new life to provide precision, buildability, and AI integration and also serves as a blueprint for planning.Another jury mentioned the quality of the Manhattan experience from the downtown waterfront (alongside the statue of liberty) is re-established as the new identity of this metaverse-built environment and is consistently carried throughout the design. The use of iconography and simple massing for each district is effective in creating diversity.The jury members are most impressed by the high-level design resolution given to each of these typological models down to the smallest block. It is, however, unfortunate that the random flythrough did the design little justice.A gentle walk around at the pedestrian level showing a variety of spaces and activities would naturally bring this scheme to the next level. Several juries find some of the zoning decisions, such as the isolation of the oasis questionable.What is considered an oasis or rejuvenation in this world and what is the relationship with the rest of the city (perhaps with reference to central park) could be given more thought. Overall, with considerations in urban/architecture design, aesthetics, buildability, execution, and presentation, most juries would pick this scheme to build in Ultiverse.
Final score by the jury:
9
II. Second Prize (1 in total)
Circulus BY Topverse
Entry’s link:
Entry’s presentation:
Jury’s comment:
This scheme is highly commended by the Juries, as one that is most sophisticated in geometric and diagrammatic disciplines.The aqua reference pays tribute to ground zero of human civilizations, the diagrammatic development and presentation of the urban planning strategy is considered appropriate and praised by several jury members as smart, successful, and elegantly executed.The typological study on urban furniture and their respective grounding in contexts are particularly effective and could be more extensive.The attempt to integrate AI into authorship, although remains at a nascent stage, is nevertheless refreshing.There are minor issues such as the lack of design resolution in the system of networks, often unclear micro-level volumetric definition, and some errors in the scaling of landscape components, etc.However, one that is most unfortunate is the missed opportunity in exploring the connections and separations of the in-betweens of those interlocking layers, which should give rise to the most interesting programs and spaces.Overall, the Jury committee is of the view that this scheme stands out as one that is most mature in demonstrating the much-needed clarity in the context of metaverse avant-garde with successful diagrammatic spatial strategy and shall be considered as among the top finalists, if not the best.
Final score by the jury:
8.5
III. Third Prize (1 in total)
Terminal City-Endless BY Witty
Entry’s link:
Entry’s presentation:
Jury’s comment:
This scheme in a unique way resembles a "beautiful sketch on toilet paper". The design process begins with a sensitive touch on arguably the most interesting aspect of NYC’s urbanistic tradition, “the rich layering of programmatic conditions”.Several juries agree that the choice of a vertical cat-scan strategy is perhaps one that is most successful in this competition. The detailed game rules under the concept of utopia vs. anti-Utopia seem beautifully cruel and promise interesting architectural qualities. However, jury members are surprised to witness all merits of this proposal crash at the 30-second point of the video presentation.Unfolding of the vertical scheme was done through a sloppy clustering of objects with little sensitivity given to the quality of space whatsoever. Connections and separations between urban key nodes with great architectural potential were not given much thought.The flythrough experience is airplane-fast, yet it is incapable of masking all omissions and dysfunctions. Overall, Juries still like this proposal, despite the recklessness and imperfections, as this scheme is one that reads deeply into the brief and developed an inspiring strategy to address issues that matter.And perhaps just one, one carefully articulated section drawing could bring this scheme to a potential winner of this competition.
Final score by the jury:
8
IV. Nomination Award (5 in total)
1.
New Order by Maruko.eth
Entry’s link:
Entry’s presentation:
Jury’s comment:
The Jury appreciates the matrix-like aesthetics of “indifference” in this proposal. “High tech, low life” as the new order stipulates, the seemingly generative system supports lives that straddle across a wide range of virtual spatial qualities.There are several somewhat successful attempts in employing scale as a key spatial strategy to differentiate cultural characters and spatial sequencing. It is unfortunate that the strategy was not utilized nearly enough to drive the design.Juries would love to experience a walkthrough from the grand promenade to the chaotic dwelling areas, and to the gruesome slumps. The flythrough barely touches on these qualities, the people, and their way of life or struggles in these strange dwellings.A set of drawings that demonstrates the spatial and programmatic construct in terms of how events and stories could unfold and take place in these public and private “stages”, would help create additional layers of depth and richness to the design and render this scheme much more impactful and believable.Overall, the jury committee is of the view that this scheme with its unique taste of cyberpunk despair belongs to one of the top spots.
Final score by the jury:
8
2.
Pinecone By Thuang
Entry’s link:
Entry’s presentation:
Jury’s comment:
The pinecone is one of a kind. Jury members mostly appreciate the self-awareness and originality of this particular authorship, one that is highly contextual and at the same time, incurably biased.With one perspective overlooking the settlement beginning from ground zero, the author provides a rich theoretical narrative in cyberpunk tradition and several typological precedents with an interesting tone of condescension.The proposed articulation of buildings at the object level is delightful and inspiring, particularly the part where the Kowloon city meets the growing wall.The scheme even goes beyond the brief and proposed several curious objects which do make sense in this world where the indulgence of objects is the essence of everything. Interestingly, the scheme presented a bleak future where there is no trace of human interactions and no programmatic ideas that support a new way of work, life, or play.The original intent of the brief however, if read carefully is not all about just the fetish in objects. Rather when the physical world is on the verge of collapsing, the metaverse as the new urbanistic built environment and a new system of belief may help keep the dreams and future alive for our next generation.And perhaps this is the type of transgression (as mentioned in the cyberpunk reference) that great architects of today could think about.
Final score by the jury:
7
3.
Do Look Up BY Mortise Lab
Entry’s link:
Jury’s comment:
This scheme is special. Jury members enjoy the cinematic narration which helps address the brief and effectively contextualizes the design.Most impressed by the theatrical shot of NYC at 19 seconds of the presentation video, several juries appreciate the efforts in capturing the essence of the competition and believe the shot is in itself, award-worthy.With the apocalyptic canvas painted and ready, the scheme suddenly switched gears and presented a castle-like squarish\circular geometry packed with corporate-looking homogenous blocks with little sensitivity given to the competition brief on the NYC urbanistic tradition.From a conceptualization standpoint, the spirit of meritocracy that the scheme seems to suggest runs against the hierarchical program layout and is contradictory to the spatial arrangement of the suggested capitalistic urban paradigm almost as described by Jane Jacob in “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”.What invites the most critique, is perhaps the re-interpretation of the central park at the circular center (which in itself is a brilliant idea), however, with the elites overlaying and butt facing the most interesting communal space in the entire scheme, the design is indeed puzzling, to say the least.Overall, the jury is impressed by the mature delivery of the scheme and finds the inconsistency in conceptualization and articulation unfortunate.
Final score by the jury:
7
4.
Cyber Valley BY Lex Keks
Entry’s link:
Entry’s presentation:
Jury’s comment:
Jury members appreciate that the scheme presented a highly plausible version of the post-war human enclave.The articulation of each key building goes beyond their relative volumetric representation with great details in quality and character. The architectural articulations of some of these building, on their own, is highly commendable.Several Juries however expressed concerns over the inconsistency of the architectural language which limits the coherence and identity of the design.One jury particularly pointed out that the residential components, from a typological standpoint, perhaps could be more inspiring.The majority of the jury members are of the view that what stops the scheme from being exceptional is the lack of focused attention given to urban planning and design, particularly, how the proposed urban fabrics come together to give identity and a strong sense of place.Lacking an overall organizational principle, the location choice of each urban component seems arbitrary, and the “Silicon Valley” reference comes as a surprise and does not directly address the brief with NYC reborn as the context.Overall, the juries believe the scheme is a good attempt at the topic from an architectural design perspective and is award-worthy.
Final score by the jury:
6.25
5. Nostalgia & Future BY Fujie
Entry’s link:
Entry’s presentation:
Jury’s comment:
The jury appreciates that the scheme is run on concept and theory.The urban and architectural ideas, despite being relatively opaque, are consistent in representation with a tint of charm that reminds juries of the “sorrow eternal” in Inferno. Heavily decorated with mental experience and thought processes, the scheme, unfortunately, suffers from a severe lacking of executability.The drawings invite doubts and fail to promise the potential to drive with rigor the urban and micro-level design solutions. The subsequent video submission has done a decent job of providing a much better localization experience, nevertheless, the key drawings, as commented by Juries, still offer more confusion than clarity.Members of the Jury would love to see a more programmatic construct with the support from sectional studies cutting through the most interesting spaces, with which, the author could demonstrate more convincingly how this version of the metaverse could help orchestrate new ways of living.
Final score by the jury:
6.25
V. Excellent Works
1.
The City Never Fall BY Peppercorn
Entry’s link:
Jury’s comment:
The scheme took a different approach to metaverse urban form, which is great and is much appreciated by the jury. Instead of starting from the ground, the proposal presented a scenario that resembles the attack of the alien mothership.Again, we are all for it! Innovative ideas and boundary-pushing gestures are welcomed. The proposed shape of “the Castle in the Sky” however reminds the jury more of the body of work from Francis Bacon, particularly the paintings with the faces shaped by unknown forces.The gap here is that the scheme has made little effort in demonstrating how the cities are formed, organized, and run, and most importantly how these processes are turned into architecture. The design and planning are done at the bare surface level.The jury agrees that this scheme is promising as an idea and could well be more interesting if more effort and design attention is given to the anatomy of the new urban form and show the audience why this city is truly special besides the funky look.
Final score by the jury:
5.5
2.
TerminusCity Alphax BY 岁月留声机
Entry’s link:
Entry’s presentation:
Jury’s comment:
The scheme has shown great efforts in the process of constructing a neon-cyberpunk wonderland, brick by brick.The choice of accent in the cinematic language is on point. The proposed volumetric representations, although lacking the necessary architectural disciplines are pleasant to the eyes and are painfully original.The jury gave this scheme the nickname “the building graveyard”. The buildings, with no exception, cutting themselves away from each other with their tombstone-like demeanor, look both peaceful and nightmarish.One thing that the author could consider improving upon is to have a concept or simply a set of rules, for the macro-level organization (both architecturally and politically), with which, one can prioritize, differentiate, and allow buildings to carry out meaningful conversations with one another.
Final score by the jury:
5.25
VI. The list of “Build Your Meta-skyline” jury members
Please note that the jury for the MUA contest operates on a dynamic rotation basis, and the list of judges for this competition will not serve as a reference for future jury members.
1. Primary Judge
Background Description
Dean and professor of a major architecture school in Asia. Reputable architecture critic. Editor of a top international architecture magazine. Graduated with Ph.D. in Architecture from Tokyo University.
Professional Disciplines
Architecture theory and criticism, AI technology integration
2. Second Judge
Background Description
Founder & CEO of a major metaverse platform anchored by a Chinese e-commerce giant. Graduated from Carnegie Mellon University majoring in computer science.
Professional Disciplines
Metaverse platform, web 3 eco-system
3. Third Judge
Background Description
Founder and chief architect of an Hangzhou-based architecture practice. Graduated from Harvard GSD and the National University of Singapore. Visiting professor and studio master at China Academy of Art.
Professional Disciplines
Achitecture design, theory & criticism
4. Fourth Judge
Background Description
Ex-CTO and software engineer of a leading metaverse unicorn. Serial web3 entrepreneur. Bachelor in Computer Science from Waterloo Unversity.
Professional Disciplines
Metaverse platform developer, game interactive design
5. Fifth Judge
Background Description
Head of real estate and REIT business of a global investment bank. Dual masters from MIT Architecture and Business School. Assistant professor of architecture at a Singapore university and lecturer at a top European business school.
Professional Disciplines
Architecture design, finance, investment, fund management
6. Sixth Judge
Background Description
Experienced investor in the Gamefi industry. The current head of Asia Pacific of a major web 3 institution. Graduated from Tsinghua University majoring in finance.
Professional Disciplines
Web3 business strategy, investment, and financing
With this, the full results and details of this competition have been fully disclosed. We would like to extend our congratulations to the winners and thank all participants for their hard work. We will send the award certificate to the participating wallet in the form of NFT, and attach a copy to the award notification email. Participants can submit their wallet address used to receive the bonus when they receive the email.
In the future, MUA DAO and Ultiverse will be jointly releasing the first 3A metaverse platform land, and the winning submissions may be incorporated into the project. We will engage in negotiations with the selected participants, and the cooperation details will be disclosed in the future. Bringing together, guiding, and promoting architects in the real world to maximize their potential and attain their deserving value in the future world is the original purpose of MUA DAO and remains our persistent direction.
As stated in our signature: As pioneers in the metaverse, we will build a new world of greater freedom, fairness, and efficiency. Created, Curated, and Owned by the People in MUA DAO. We would like to express our deepest gratitude and appreciation to all who participated and focused on this competition. Your contributions have been invaluable and will play a significant role in shaping the future of metaverse. Your dedication, creativity, and passion have brought us closer to realizing our vision of the new world.
MUA DAO is proud to have been a part of this amazing journey with you, and look forward to continuing exploring new frontiers, charting new territory in the metaverse, securing more well-being, and creating a better future together.
Once again, we thank you for your participation and for being a part of this exciting journey toward a better future. Together, we will build a world of greater possibility, opportunity, and prosperity.
Note: MUA DAO and Ultiverse reserve the right to the final interpretation of the competition results.