Giorgia Golzio

Giorgia is a London based designer whose interests lie at the intersection of digital technology, spatial practice and speculative design. Her thesis project, Disembodied: Choreographing a Non-Binary Metaverse, is situated in 3D digital design, working to interrogate and re-imagine current world views and modes of living in virtual realities such as the metaverse.

In her first year at the RCA, Giorgia's research addressed the decline of biodiversity in urban environments through the use of sound. Her project, Sonic Rewilding, proposed a sound corridor in the London Euston area that accommodates a series of temporary works infrastructures which alter the sonic conditions of the city in a way that reattracts wildlife. Giorgia was also awarded a distinction for her dissertation on social media and the transformation of public space.

Prior to her time at the RCA, Giorgia completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Kent, followed by a professional background in architecture at Hollaway Studio where she worked on a unique range of projects across London and Kent. During this time she worked on designs for clients such as Mr Doodle, Stephen Webster and Damien Hirst.

Disembodied: Choreographing a Non-Binary Metaverse

The rules of the metaverse are in constant motion, giving it the potential to be a zone of imagination in which anything is possible. We can manipulate and question the parameters and limits of this new technology, through the proposal of a new metaverse platform which steps away from binary modes of representation. A new methodology is proposed for avatar building, moving away from the anatomy of the human body entirely, in order to create a non-binary configuration of abstract elements; a spatialised disembodied personality. New ways of interacting with others online, through movement and dance are explored. This new metaverse is designed through these interactions, where space itself can be choreographed. Lying at the intersection between dance and architecture, a new virtual reality is created which is responsive to its users’ evolving personalities.

Medium:

3D Animation

Disembodied Personalities

A new methodology is proposed for avatar building, moving away from the anatomy of the human body entirely. This is done through a questionnaire that allows an individual to choose their favourite things, each relating to a different layer of their personality. Visual elements are then taken from each questionnaire response in order to create a non-binary configuration of abstract elements. This methodology allows us to break away from binary modes of self expression and also allows us to represent individuals through their interests as opposed to their physical appearance; a spatialised disembodied personality is created.

Medium:

3D Animation

abstraction avatars digital identity metaverse non-human non-representational virtual-reality

Architecture is traditionally opposed to the temporality that is inherent in movement and dance, and this is also true of the current architecture of the metaverse. The project therefore proposes to inform the spatial quality of the metaverse through the disembodied personalities’ movement. The space originates from the individual and is an extension of the self, it is not a precoded space that limits self expression. This allows for the creation of a space that is not static but is instead responsive to its user, turning a subjective dance experience into an objective architectural reality, and translating personal space into temporal space. Space can be informed by different types of interaction, informed by the number of participants, rhythm, and scale of movement. Within these interactions, there can be moments of synchronicity where a new combined space is created from the elements that make up each personality, or also moments of contrast, highlighting difference in personality and consequently space.