Architects Embrace Worldbuilding to Design Immersive Narratives of Space
Architecture is increasingly incorporating worldbuilding—a concept borrowed from film and gaming—to craft comprehensive social, technological, and narrative frameworks. In an article dated October 2, 2026, Ankitha Gattupalli argues that architects should consider, "What type of world would justify this structure?" Notable examples include the V&A's installation Architecture (AFTER GAMES) and Lawrence Lek's NOX in Berlin. UCLA's Speculative Worlds Studio is dedicated to speculative worldbuilding, producing immersive environments, publications, and installations. The Guggenheim's Åzone Futures Market utilized fictional currency for exploring simulated futures. Gattupalli references Blade Runner’s Los Angeles and Archigram’s Walking City as historical examples, indicating that worldbuilding can amplify scenarios and explore their implications. This article is part of ArchDaily's theme 'The Lure of Escapism in Architecture and Alternative Worlds.'
Key facts
- Article published on October 2, 2026, by Ankitha Gattupalli on ArchDaily.
- Worldbuilding asks architects to design social rules, narratives, technologies, economies, atmospheres, behaviors, and relationships that make a place believable.
- Architecture (AFTER GAMES) was a V&A-commissioned installation project that converted video-game environments into a gallery setting.
- Lawrence Lek's NOX was staged at Kranzler Eck in Berlin within a former department-store complex.
- NOX constructed a fictional AI-driven urban environment with a simulated rehabilitation center for sentient autonomous vehicles.
- UCLA Architecture and Urban Design's Speculative Worlds Studio shifted from filmmaking to speculative worldbuilding.
- The Guggenheim's web-based exhibition Åzone Futures Market used fictional currency for participants to invest in simulated futures.
- The article is part of ArchDaily's topic 'The Lure of Escapism in Architecture and Alternative Worlds.'
Entities
Artists
- Ankitha Gattupalli
- Lawrence Lek
- Tyler Lemmon
- Kyung Roh
- Philip Klevestav
Institutions
- ArchDaily
- University of the Creative Arts
- Aarhus School of Architecture
- V&A
- You+Pea
- UCLA Architecture and Urban Design
- Guggenheim
- Archigram
- Deutsches Architekturmuseum
Locations
- Berlin
- Germany
- Los Angeles
- United States
- London
- United Kingdom