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An aerial view of the Liberland Metaverse vision. Image courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects.
In January, Liberland unveiled its most dazzling and arguably most convincing proposal yet. Working with Patrik Schumacher of Zaha Hadid Architects, Jedlička portrayed his country as a futuristic crypto paradise through a fully realized city in the metaverse. Picture a national assembly hall, a buzzy NFT bazaar, office towers—all done in Hadid’s trademark swooping, swoon-worthy architectural style.
— Quartz
ZHA principal Patrik Schumacher has been personally spearheading the metaverse version of a disputed quasi Freestate called the Free Republic of Liberland since shortly after it was founded in 2015 by the self-styled libertarian Czech politician Vít Jedlička (who prefers the honorific “Mr. President”).
Jedlička and Schumacher’s joint ambit has grown over the preceding years and now seeks to (virtually) cement its place in the popular imagination through the establishment of institutional infrastructure and the push for eventual recognition of statehood from the United Nations.
“It was time to turn ideas into something more concrete,” the 38-year-old politician told Quartz. “It’s important to show to the world that we are serious about starting development in Liberland.”
An avowed libertarian himself, Schumacher says the program of parametrically designed institutional buildings will have a digital presence hosted on the platform Mytaverse that should be a degree or two easier to construct than physical buildings in considering its lack of safety codes and similarly delimited dimensions. “The track record of managing big construction sites isn’t required here,” he said. “It’s more focused on the core competency of design.”
According to Schumacher, Liberland Metaverse is still a work in progress and a collaborative effort between Liberland, ZHA, Mytaverse, and ArchAgenda.
Video courtesy Patrik Schumacher’s YouTube channel
