Simone Micheli on Designing a Museum in the Metaverse

Simone Micheli, an internationally renowned architect born in 1964, advocates for a regenerative, hybrid, and elastic architecture that embraces virtuality. He founded his studio in 1990 and, with Roberta Colla, established Simone Micheli Architectural Hero in 2003, with offices in Florence, Milan, Puntaldia, Dubai, Rabat, and Busan. His work spans masterplans, architecture, interiors, design, visual communication, and event organization. Micheli emphasizes the importance of playfulness, joy, and multisensoriality in his projects, rejecting seriousness. He believes architecture should communicate beauty and emotion, and that cities are like sheets of paper where different narratives overlap. Micheli is among the first architects to work in the metaverse, where he sees no constraints—only freedom to express forms, colors, and emotions. He is currently designing a museum for the metaverse, a project dedicated to art that transcends physical limitations. He describes the metaverse as a "terrestrial periphery" offering new stimuli and variations for built architecture. Micheli's approach is influenced by his childhood use of Lego, which allowed him to build infinite spaces. He contrasts his playful, sensory-driven designs with the poor-quality, profit-driven constructions that dominate much of the built environment.