Meta Residence One, Miami

What if there was a way to bring all of your friends, family, or business associates together from around the world, without travel, but with all the fun and excitement of a live party or event?

That’s the promise of Meta Residence One, the first home to exist simultaneously in the real world and the metaverse.

The technology in this beautiful home is so well done, it was named one of the best of 2023 in
the annual Crestron Technology Awards.

The first of its kind

The real-world house is an 11,182 square foot single-level contemporary mansion with seven bedrooms, nine baths, a beautiful chef’s kitchen, media room, family and entertainment areas, plus additional outdoor entertainment areas, including an outdoor kitchen, pool, and spa.

It was designed by architect Mark Reardon of Palmetto Bay, Florida, and includes a Crestron automation system designed and installed by Think Simple.

The metaverse house includes an exact duplicate of the physical home plus several additional spaces, including a multi-level nightclub and a UFO garage. Designed by Voxel Architects, it stands on a 2.2-acre virtual lot in the Sandbox metaverse.

The Sandbox is a blockchain-based gaming platform that will allow the new homeowner to entertain on an entirely new level. While the home is a fully built-out experience with extensive gaming and entertainment features, its owner will be able to continuously expand them as developers bring new ideas to the platform.

“I see the buyer as someone who is very comfortable with crypto, who enjoys online gaming and NFTs, and who has an interest in owning a landmark in the metaverse,” explains developer Gabe Sierra, of Meta Residence One. “It’s the next phase in meeting and interacting online, but with the feeling of being there.”

Because it’s the first property of its kind, the house will be of great value to anyone trying to build or enhance a brand, Sierra says. “The new owner will have millions of eyes on this property able to be leveraged in all kinds of ways, including holding events there. It’s like buying a Twitter page with hundreds of thousands of followers.”

A technology-centric home

Sierra, the developer, and current owner of the home, says he grew up in the construction industry. His father is a general contractor building luxury homes in the Miami area, and he has been around construction sites, or working in the family business, practically his whole life.

When he had the opportunity to take on a project totally on his own, he wanted to take the concepts of leisure and business entertaining to a new level.

“If you’re like most people today, you probably communicate on multiple platforms, through texting, voice, video, various social media, and gaming platforms, as well as face to face. The Metaverse is the next evolution, and the Sandbox allows us to build immersive experiences that people around the world can visit, interact with each other, and enjoy.

And, of course, anyone buying a technology-centric home like this one would expect the very best technology.  “That’s where Think Simple and Crestron come in.”

Will Gilbert, partner at Think Simple, says that “We’ve done everything we can to give the buyer best possible experience.”

The house includes:

• Control and automation systems based on a Crestron 4-Series control processor and Crestron Home
• A user interface based on Crestron TSW-70 Series touch screens and TSR-310 remotes plus the owner’s phones and tablets.
• A whole house audio system based on Crestron DM-NAX audio over IP and Crestron X amplifiers, plus Crestron Reference, Aspire, and Saros speakers indoors, and Origin Acoustics Seasons Landscape speakers outdoors.
• Crestron lighting control throughout the interior and exterior of the home.
• Crestron motorized shading solutions in key areas of the home.
• A dedicated Crestron home theater media room.
• Crestron Horizon thermostats and Horizon lighting keypads
• The Bodhi building management platform, to allow simplified management of the home’s Crestron systems and remote management support.

One of the home’s most powerful features is Bodhi Predictive Maintenance, which will monitor and analyze data from the climate, lighting, entertainment and automation systems in real time, constantly comparing it to the manufacturers’ specifications and past performance.

For example, if Bodhi sees that the cooling system is drawing more and more current to bring the house to a comfortable temperature in similar weather conditions, that can indicate a fault, so Bodhi will notify the HVAC contractor to check on the issue and track its resolution.

Bodhi also offers a simple way for Think Simple –or the homeowner– to change lighting, climate and other settings by time of day and occupancy. So, for example, if the house is empty, Bodhi can set back the temperature and lighting to save energy – and when people return, switch to a ‘welcome’ setting for lights, climate and entertainment systems.

Think Simple also is including Bodhi flood and leak detection, an important feature in a semi-tropical climate where mold can be a problem.

Now showing

With the home completed, Sierra has begun showing it to perspective buyers. “As a developer, I’m enjoying holding open houses in the metaverse, so that buyers can visit it from anywhere in the world.

“It’s not just a 360 view, it’s a thing that lives, that they can actually walk around in.

“It truly is a landmark.”