Metaverse company Pax.world featured a host of metaverse social spaces that were designed by architectural firms Grimshaw, HWKN, WHY, and Farshid Moussavi. The collaboration attests to the growing involvement of design practices in the realm of the metaverse.

The social spaces of the metaverse were inspired by The Silk Road. This was an ancient trade route that allowed goods to be transported between the Western world, the Middle East, and Asia. Referring specifically to “caravanserai”, which were roadside inns on the Silk Road, the virtual community centers were referred to as “metaserai”. These metaverse social spaces are a place where users can “trade, attend cultural events, and network.”

The aesthetics of the metaserai is also quite interesting. For example, Grimshaw designed a rectangular…