“Fungible Non-Fungible” is an experimental pavilion created by the architecture office iheartblob, which connects the digital and physical world and calls into question traditional understandings of value, authorship and the creation of architecture. It is the winning work of the 2022 Tallinn Architecture Biennale installation competition and has also been called the world’s first architecture project funded through blockchain.

At the centre of the work is the idea that architecture does not have to be born from the vision of one author, but can be a collective and constantly developing process. As the authors explain, the architect here is no longer a “master builder”, but the creator of a system who connects technology and community. The pavilion was created through a digital platform, where people from all over the world could design its individual parts and “mint” them as NFTs – each digital element in turn funded the construction of its physical counterpart.

This approach makes the pavilion essentially hybrid: it exists simultaneously in both digital and physical space. Each part is unique, but at the same time part of a larger system – exactly as the title also refers to the opposing, yet interconnected meanings of “fungible” and “non-fungible”. The work develops over time, connecting the “slowly” changing physical structure and the digital layer that updates in real time.

Visually, this ideology is expressed in the pavilion’s organic and modular form, where each element is different, but works together as a whole. The choice of material – wood – connects the digital concept with local craftsmanship and environmental awareness, bringing global participation into a physical, Tallinn context.

The social dimension of the work is also important. The pavilion is not merely an object, but an attempt to create a new model of architecture where the community is both designer and investor. “This is a step towards people being able to become shareholders in their built environment,” the authors describe the project’s ambition.

“Fungible Non-Fungible” therefore functions both as a spatial installation and as a conceptual experiment – it presents not only a new form, but also a new way of thinking about architecture, ownership and cooperation in the digital age.