Blockchain Architectures, the Potential of Web3 for Decentralized Participatory Architecture - Collaborative objects on the Blockchain

Abstract

This paper explores the potential of blockchain technology and the Web3 for a decentralized participatory architecture. In this context, the polyvalent capacity of a block in a blockchain is at the center of this investigation. Blockchain innovations in cryptography and efficient block validation and creation systems have led to autonomous blocks that act as decentralized, transparent, and secure Web3 assets. Following our previous research on collaborative objects that enable real-time participatory design activities, a case study project H=N BLOCK+A is developed that implements blockchain principles at both the conceptual and infrastructural levels. At the conceptual level, architectural blocks are speculated and applied as autonomous and decentralized Web3 assets, i.e., a decentralized kit of parts/blocks/NFTs/applications that can form a crazy patchwork of heterogeneous compatible blocks. At the infrastructural level, an existing sustainable blockchain is facilitated to embed a decentralized design methodology that enables real-time participatory co-creation of a collective architectural form.