The sharing economy, an economic system that involves individuals renting out or sharing their personal property including their homes and cars, has been severely impacted as the wave of COVID-19 ebbs and flows across the world. Popular companies like Uber, Airbnb, bike shares, and a variety of coworking spaces that we are so accustomed to being essential parts of our lives, have been making adjustments and creating new strategies to ensure that their customers feel safe and reimagine how they might adapt to an uncertain road ahead.
Airbnb has launched a $1 million design fund to finance 10 “unconventional and unusual” homes. Looking for the “wildest home ideas”, the competition-based program is called the Unique Airbnb Fund and will be judged by actor Billy Porter, MVRDV partner Fokke Moerel, and Airbnb Superhost Kristie Wolfe. Each of the finalists will receive a grant to make their eccentric Airbnb design concepts a reality.
Airbnb is changing the way we experience buildings and cities. Founded in 2008, the digital platform utilizes technology to enable real-world experiences, and in turn, aims to create a world where you can feel at home anywhere. With its own in-house design teams like Samara and Airbnb Environments, the company has begun shaping the future of how we live and work.
With an aim to become a company that also offers houses, not just housing, Airbnb is venturing in the creation of prototypes of homes. Through Samara, its future-oriented product design team, and the Backyard initiative, new ideas are tested, new ways of living and experiencing the sheltered space are explored.
Airbnb has partnered with the Musée du Louvre to offer a unique experience for one lucky winner to sleep underneath the museum’s iconic Pyramid for one night. On April 30th, the winner will take up residence within I.M Pei’s famous 1989 addition to the Parisian complex, part of an elaborate “night at the museum” experience.
https://www.archdaily.com/914335/airbnb-is-treating-one-lucky-guest-to-a-night-in-the-louvre-including-drinks-with-the-mona-lisaNiall Patrick Walsh
Drawing service Archibnb has begun creating architectural floor plans for Airbnb listings. Trading in rough sketches for professional plans, the team aims to make Airbnb listings more competitive by providing additional clarity on room privacy, layout and amenities. Hosts create a sketch and include any photos or information on the listing, and within three working days the final plan is delivered for $49.00 per property.
As 2018 draws to a close, accommodation website Airbnb has dived into their data to reveal the most creative cities and countries from the year. Based on the percentage of hosts who are in the creative industries, the list builds on a previous survey by Airbnb which found that one in 10 Airbnb hosts and one in three Experience hosts identify as members of the creative community.
Home-sharing has become a phenomenon in the real estate and housing markets, with design playing a key factor in the success of a property, home, or room. The radical departure from the beige wallpaper and white linen hotel room has opened up a world of possibility for the adventurous traveler, from spending a night on the Great Wall of China to staying in an architectural masterpiece.
To help you design a successful Airbnb, we have provided 25 design tips for homeowners looking to turn their properties into profit. Remember, it's all about first impressions, and having that “curb appeal” will ultimately bring in people seeking one-of-a-kind experiences.
ArchDaily and Airbnb were both founded in 2008, but for two very different reasons. Since then, ArchDaily has amassed a vast database of tens of thousands of buildings, located in cities and countries all around the world. Meanwhile, Airbnb has revolutionized the way in which we explore these countries, and use these buildings, even if just for one night.
Airbnb is giving four lucky winners the honor of being among “the first people in thousands of years to spend the night on the Great Wall of China.” The competition, open until August 11th, offers the prize of staying in a custom-designed home situated on one of the seven wonders of the modern world.
The competition, run in collaboration with the Beijing Tourism Development Committee, is intended to “promote sustainable tourism to China by spotlighting wide-ranging efforts to preserve the Wall’s deep heritage and bring Chinese culture to life.” The four winners will have to adhere to strict House Rules, such as respecting their 1.38 billion neighbors, refraining from waking ancient guards with loud music, and promising not to disturb dragons.
Five lucky architecture enthusiasts and Airbnb users have been offered the unique experience to accompany Kengo Kuma on a guided tour of the 2020 Olympic stadium in Tokyo. The renowned architect has collaborated with Airbnb to offer the exclusive experience, described as a “visit to Kengo’s under-construction Olympic stadium, along with a meet and greet at his studio and tea with the celebrated architect.”
The July 31st tour, sadly fully booked, offers an insightful example of architects collaborating with leaders of the “gig economy” to offer design experiences directly to the public.
https://www.archdaily.com/898376/kengo-kumas-airbnb-experience-to-include-tour-of-2020-tokyo-olympic-stadiumNiall Patrick Walsh
Ever wanted to spend the night in a classic Frank Lloyd Wright house? Here’s your chance.
The Eppstein House, one of Wright’s Usonian designs built in 1953, has been restored to its original beauty by owners Marika Broere and Tony Hillebrandt and is now accepting visitors for a limited time through Airbnb. Located in Galesburg, Michigan, the house was originally designed as part of a planned Usonian community intended to contain 21 homes, though just four ended up being built.
Airbnb has teamed up with LEGO to offer fanatics the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend the night in the newly-opened LEGO House in Billund, Denmark. Contest winners will be able to enjoy the BIG-designed building all for themselves for one night, where they will be treated to a special program of events before retiring to the bedroom located beneath a 6-metre-tall LEGO waterfall and surrounded by a pool of bricks.
Ever wondered what it would be like to wake up within the iconic pink walls at La Muralla Roja? Or, you could finally swim in the rooftop pool atop the Brutalist Torres Blancas in Madrid, or even enjoy the weekend in a house designed by Pritzker laureate Shigeru Ban in Sri Lanka. Thanks to house renting platform AirBnb, that architecture daydream is now a reality. Residential architecture masterpieces can often feature in an architecture lovers bucket list but can be limited to looking at it from the outsides. Now, you can actually experience many famous works for what they are designed to be. This time we have selected 17 homes, rooms, offices and even capsules designed by your favorite architects around the world. Are you ready to book your next vacation?
Interior design by REAL Foundation for Common Stock: Sharing as Luxury, the fourth tower in the Derivative Architecture series. Image Courtesy of Real Foundation
The Chicago Architecture Biennial is the largest platform for contemporary architecture in North America, and the blog invites designers and other contributors to express their perspectives in a range of formats. The 2017 exhibition, entitled Make New History, will be free and open to the public between September 16, 2017 and January 6, 2018.
Courtesy of Real Foundation
Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB): We want to start by noting that REAL foundation, which stands for "Real Estate Architecture Laboratory," is not a typical design practice. You design spaces, but you also make books, exhibitions, a magazine, and tools for advocacy. Why?
Jack Self (JS): The REAL foundation is an unusual model for an architectural firm. We're a normal architectural practice, but we are governed by a very strict set of conditions that allow us to pursue certain political and economic ideologies. We see the social role of the architect, as well as the structure of the architectural firm, as a subject for design as much as buildings.
If I had to guess, I would say that it has been forty years since Columbus, Indiana, was the hot topic of cocktail conversations at design-related get-togethers in New York City. In those days, it was the supercharged patronage of industrialist J. Irwin Miller and his relationships with designers like Eero Saarinen and Alexander Girard that spurred a wave of innovative and provocative architecture in the small Midwestern town. Columbus, with a population of 45,000, has a Robert Venturi fire station, a John Johansen school, a park by Michael Van Valkenburgh, and several buildings by Eliel and Eero Saarinen, including the younger’s iconic Miller House.
AAgora is a debate platform based at the Architectural Association, London, which aims to shed light on relevant architectural topics. These debates take the form of an open-table discussion which encourages the audience to participate at any time. AAgora's third debate will be "Pret A Habiter" - or, Ready to Inhabit - Towards Nomadic Homogeneity, in the city through the sharing economy and Airbnb.
.jpg?1533734642 "VillaLóla / ARKÍS architects. Image © ARKÍS architects")
