''For many, constant bad news numbs our reaction to climate disasters. But research suggests that a new type of immersive storytelling about nature told through virtual reality (VR) can both build empathy and inspire us to act.''
10th March 2025
Philippines NEXT A Wild-Life Immersive Sanctuary
What if you could hear, sense and see the forgotten wildlife species from the past, present, and future, coexisting in the most exotic simulation of Life? What if you could hear, sense, experience their scale, their sound, texture, and colour - the wildlife casually passing by, so close to you - in the most immersive, hyper-realistic museum of WildLife in XR?
We are not very far from this reality. Philippines NEXT :: We are changing everything you know about learning Nature and History, and turning it into an interactive, immersive and highfidelity experience - accessible by All, anytime.
A project by [MC] STUDIOS. X : Architects and Designers proudly designing the extended reality of spaces for the extended practice of learning.
Philippines NEXT
AI DRIVEN :: IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGY
Project Type:
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VR and XR (extended reality)
Location
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Pixel Streaming Cloud + Oculus 3
Role:
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Commision to [MC] Studios .X
Program and Function:
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Virtual Education and Entertainment: Tours and Classes; Sailing; Kayaking; Swimming; Bird Watching; Botanical Classes and Tours; Leisure; Drawing and Photography Lessons (social media capture and share)
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Area and Dimensions:
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48,000 m2 | 26 meters high
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Team Credits:
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Architecture and Direction: Mariana Cabugueira
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AI: Davide Tessari
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AI motion and cinematics KSZ AI Studio
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Original Arch Viz (2022): Monomo
Philippines NEXT A Wild-Life Immersive Sanctuary
The Philippines Next, Wild-Life Sanctuary is a future immersive sanctuary for the virtual reality of wildlife in the Philippines.
Enabled by AI-driven technology and immersive pixel-streaming clouds, this project offers XR entertainment and interactive education.
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Soon to be ccessible via browser and Oculus 3, Philippines Next project is currently being built in Unreal Engine in third-person and integrating gameplay to be available through a renowned pixel streaming cloud (confidential).
Project Description
The Philippines NEXT is a future immersive sanctuary for the virtual reality of wildlife in the Philippines. The project is enabled by AI-driven technology integrated into immersive streaming clouds.
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This project offers XR entertainment and is designed for interactive education on the wildlife of the Philippines, aiming to raise awareness of rising sea levels, changing migration routes, and the subsequent decline of bird species.​
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The project was designed by the architect Mariana Cabugueira in 2022 and later commissioned to [MC] STUDIOS to build an open-virtual world with gameplay integration. The original project proposes a floating botanical island and a wildlife habitat located in the open sea of the Western Pacific Ocean.
The future project expands this concept to the broader public, accessible via browser and Oculus 3. [MC] STUDIOS has further developed the floating island through AI visualization and AI motion.
Philippines NEXT is a new type of immersive storytelling about nature told through virtual reality and artificial intelligence (XR-AI); designed to build empathy, to educate us, build awareness, and provoke a feel-good neuro reaction for when we are deprived from our contact with nature.
From a technical stand-point this project represents a revolutionary way to explore and learn in the virtual world. Its 3D immersive access is in progress to be available in VR, AR and XR through a renowned pixel streaming cloud. It is currently being built in Unreal Engine, Epic Games, in third-person mode; its gameplay is under development and it is to be integrated as a core experience of the Philippines Virtual Island.
The Science Behind Virtual Nature in VR
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Studies show that experiencing nature through virtual reality (VR) can reduce stress, improve mood, and increase empathy. VR nature activates brain regions similar to real-world nature exposure, including areas linked to emotional regulation and connectedness.
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Immersive VR storytelling also creates a strong sense of presence, making users feel like they’re truly in the environment. This effect has been shown to boost environmental concern and motivate real-world action, especially when the experience includes emotional or lifelike content.
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In short: virtual nature in VR produces measurable psychological and behavioural changes that support well-being and pro-environmental attitudes.
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The BBC recently explored this in an article on how VR nature experiences are being used to inspire empathy and environmental care. You can read it here.
