Calling digitally-savvy global citizens: How about joining a country club in the Cloud?

HAVING conquered the co-living sector with a trendy portfolio of leasable shophouses, Figment's founder Fang Low says he could have easily transplanted parts of his business model in cities such as Hong Kong and Dubai.

Instead, he has turned his gaze towards the metaverse, the world of the future, to reimagine the potential living spaces there.

Figment recently launched its Czech Club (above), the first in a chain of virtual country clubs designed for the global citizen. The next two clubs to follow are the India Club and the Spain Club.

Each uniquely-designed club is where you interact with other members on video and via an avatar. You can have virtual drinks with them at the bar, go for a swim in the digital pool, watch a concert, listen to a critical lecture on culture, and take part in activities lined up daily at the club.

Low (above) says: "The global citizens of the world have become equally comfortable living their lives in virtual spaces as they already do in physical spaces.

"In a way, the pandemic has sped that process up with platforms such as Zoom... So it's not such a leap to imagine us doing a variety of activities in a country club that exists in the Cloud."

Figment has assigned different teams to design each club to give each a different look and amenities.

The Czech Club, designed by the Prague-based company Spacemakers, has a look and feel unique to the Czech Republic. The designers looked to Bauhaus functionalism to create clean lines and simplicity; other localised touches include cobblestone paths, spacious gardens and the magnificent Charles Bridge that sits just outside the club.

The India Club (above) is to be designed by the India-based Architecture For Dialogue, and the Spain Club, by Estudio Brava operating from Cartagena, Spain.

To be a member of the country clubs, one has to purchase a citizenship NFT (non-fungible token) currently priced at 0.5 Eth (now at US$2,770). But like most physical country club memberships, it is transferable. And because it is an NFT, it can be resold at the price you want.

What's more, membership doesn't just grant entry in the virtual country club. One can also access what Figment calls "Embassy Houses", physical spaces in different locations around the world that complement the virtual spaces.

The first Embassy House, simply named Singapore House (below), is designed by Linghao Architects, and is located, not surprisingly, in a shophouse.

Low says: "Let's just say that these country clubs are not your grandfather's idea of a country club. We're looking into the future and reimagining how we might live... The launch of these country clubs could be the start of a new way of looking at the world, one in which we are much less bound by borders and nationalities."

Some might see Figment's entry into the metaverse as a risky one. But Low thinks it makes more sense to move Figment first into the metaverse before expanding it physically into other cities.

"The traditional way of looking at things is to expand our brick-and-mortar business into cities like Hong Kong and Sydney," says Low.

"And while I can do that, I think it makes much more sense to expand into the metaverse and add new things to our existing product offering, such as cultural programming and virtual memberships.

"From there, we can see which cities are more receptive to our brand proposition... So if, for instance, we have 400 metaverse members from Hong Kong, I can materialise physically in Hong Kong with much fewer risks."

Addressing the carbon footprint of NFTs, he says the sale of the citizenship NFTs will be carbon-offset. On top of that, he has also taken the legally-binding Founders Pledge to donate half of all personal proceeds towards global challenges, such as the current refugee crisis in Ukraine.

To find out more about Figment's country clubs, visit https://country.figment.live