Dewan Architects + Engineers introduces Babel 4.0, the First Architecturally Inspired NFT from the Middle East
The culturally positive, forward-thinking and inclusive non-fungible token provides a futuristic experience for architects and designers in the metaverse.
For close to four decades, Dewan Architects + Engineers has been at the forefront of the Middle East’s booming architectural and engineering design sector. The firm is recognized as a regional industry leader, and a prominent and integral contributor to the Emirate’s ever-flourishing iconic skyline. The firm sees the introduction of Babel 4.0 and NFTs as the next logical step as they experiment and research further into the metaverse and internet-of-things.
Ammar Al Assam, CEO of Dewan Architects and his team understand the importance of championing various backgrounds, cultures, visions and experiences, exemplified by the firm’s diverse multi-cultural team with over 50 nationalities represented. With these values in mind, Dewan Architects has created the Babel 4.0 NFT, a reinterpretation of the mythical Tower of Babel, previously cited as, ‘A united human race in the generations following The Atrahasis (The Great Flood), speaking a single language, migrating westward, come to a land where they agree to build a utopian vertical city tall enough to reach the heavens and live in perpetual harmony’.
“Our plan is to launch this NFT collection which will encourage academia, government bodies, architects, engineers, universities, material and product producers and the community to interact and exchange ideas in a virtual world.
– Al Assam says
Babel 4.0 is a formal adaptation and interpretation of life today. Babel 4.0 is a modern metaverse where tower silos are created to provide a platform that connects digital communities to promote the overall greater good and collective advancement of its members. Babel 4.0 is not a physical building and intentionally opposes style, location, culture and budget but is a blank canvas for hybrid cultures. The proposed ‘helix’ propagates infinitely. Babel 4.0 is now available on OpenSea.
The infinite-helix inspired Babel 4.0 encourages visitors to explore the entire community tower. Visitors always start their journey at the arrival communal space where they make connections and initial contact with others. Travelling anticlockwise, visitors ascend to exhibition and museum levels where they can exhibit their non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in a virtual museum. The public exhibition spaces are reserved for the members, the 100 initial invited ones, could be extended later.
Interestingly, Babel 4.0 has no owners. The plots are occupied by members eager to express their culture and share their knowledge and relies solely on autonomous dialogue and exchange between its members. Visitors can dictate how long they stay in the tower by accessing and utilizing various time zones and shortcuts. Babel has its own parliament and speaking corner where members discuss and share their thoughts. The information discussed and lessons learned can be used within the Metaverse but also in the real world. The extraordinary non-profit community provides architects, designers, project managers and suppliers an inspiring space to connect from around the world.
Circular movement within Babel constantly reinforces the sense of community. The tower is an infinite ramp suitable for various sensorial travel experiences. Stairs, slides and cables serve as shortcuts whilst elevator and teleportation transport respond effectively to long-distance journeys. The beautiful gardens just below parliament connect Babel 4.0 to the real world. The original Tower of Babel had 100 gates; 25 on each side. Dewan intends to create 100 NFTs as part of the Babel 4.0 collection, which will be donated to prominent academics and leaders in the fields of design and architecture. These NFTs can be used and exchanged for plots in the tower to access various exhibition or presentation spaces.
Metaverse architecture is the logical next step for Dewan. Dewan is developing a dedicated design research lab to support investors and virtual developers entering the Metaverse. As a firm, Dewan are keen to bring emotion, purpose, and the experiential qualities of space to designs in the virtual world.
By introducing various new elements into the traditional field of architecture such as gaming, hardware developers, coders, VFX specialists, and storytellers, Dewan truly bridges the gap of today’s architecture industry; the physical and the metaphysical. These desirable spaces share attributes with physical reality, as such, avatars have human appeal and cannot pass through each other; this affords users a deeper sense of immersion into Babel 4.0. It’s likely that future generations will use this digital infrastructure to allow them to engage in problem solving and resolution practices that previously could not have been considered. Dewan Architects + Engineers is proud to be a contributor to the industry and future generations with this historic moment for the NFT and Metaverse-ecosystem.
About Dewan Architecture + Engineers Dewan Architects + Engineers is at the forefront of the Middle East A&E industry and is recognized as one of the leading firms responsible for positively contributing to the design sector across the UAE, Saudi, Africa and SE Asia. Dewan has offices in the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, Barcelona and most recently, Cairo. Leading industry publications rank the firm as one of the top three multi-disciplinary practices in the Middle East and one of fifty in the world. The team boasts world-class talent in architecture, master planning, , interior design, engineering, and construction supervision