METAMORPHOSIS
Digital workflow for rural regeneration through 3D scanning, metaverse tools, and participatory design
This project explores a digital strategy for rural regeneration by combining drone photogrammetry, voxel-based participatory design, and blockchain-driven metaverse environments. Centered on the Italian village of Ostana, the workflow transforms 3D scans into optimized virtual models used for community-led design sessions and immersive experiences. The outcome is a hybrid framework that links cultural preservation, decentralized planning, and virtual economies through accessible digital tools.
Ostana, like many rural European settlements, faces severe depopulation and socio-economic stagnation. Simultaneously, the challenge of integrating immigrants into small communities remains largely unmet. Conventional architectural and planning approaches fall short of addressing this complexity. This project reframes rural revival as a digital infrastructure problem—one where spatial, social, and economic regeneration converge in a virtual domain. By turning disappearing villages into shared, editable 3D spaces, the proposal makes the built environment accessible as a platform for engagement, education, and transactional value.
The workflow begins with drone-based photogrammetry to generate high-resolution models of selected settlements. Image sets are processed using Agisoft Metashape and refined in ZBrush and Blender for cleanup, mesh simplification, and texture baking. These models are further converted into voxel form via FileToVox and MagicaVoxel for compatibility with the Voxels platform. Participants, guided through a workshop format, use simplified tools to propose architectural interventions. These are later parametrized using Rhino-Grasshopper. Parallelly, an immersive multiplayer space is developed in Mona, where interaction is mediated through Unity. The digital twin is linked to blockchain-based smart contracts and NFTs, allowing for community-driven design, performance-based construction, and tokenized digital tourism
Two settlements in Ostana are successfully digitized and deployed in metaverse environments. Community workshops conducted within Voxels generate design data that inform architectural modules. Interactive experiences in Mona prototype a virtual Ostana accessible to remote users, offering educational and touristic value. Smart contract logic outlines a post-construction model of performance-linked payment, while NFTs function as both economic tools and digital records of labor and identity. The process demonstrates that community inclusion, architectural design, and virtual economies can operate in a continuous, decentralized feedback loop.
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MATERIALS
Digital Materials
PROCESSES
Construction Mapping | Virtual Reality | Metaverse
DESIGNS
Adaptive Voxel Sizing
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ROLES
Indexlab promotes the exploration and design of new digital strategies for rural regeneration. In this project, the team combined drone photogrammetry, voxel-based participatory design, and blockchain-enabled metaverse environments to create a hybrid workflow centered on the village of Ostana, Italy.
STAKEHOLDERS
LOCATION
First exhibited at the municipality of Ostana, Italy
YEAR
2024
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