Archinect - News

Airbnb lets you inside the Colosseum for a special gladiator theme experience

2024-11-13T18:01:00-05:00

Airbnb has announced a new partnership with Paramount Pictures for a unique experience as part of the promotional campaign for Ridley Scott’s new Gladiator II sequel. Its setting is the famed Colosseum in Rome. Lucky guests will be guided via concierge into the structure’s hypogeum for a special one-night-only tour before selecting battle armor and readying for combat in the moonlit arena. Fans of the ancient tradition shouldn't miss the opportunity to register here by December 9. Please note: this is not an overnight stay. Ancient Roman posca sports drinks are also not included.

Image: Christopher Anderson/Airbnb

Image: Daniele Castellaro/Airbnb

Here's your chance to haunt the Beetlejuice house

2024-10-24T10:44:00-04:00

The latest addition to Airbnb’s icon series is now offering guests the unique chance to sleep in a replica of the Maitland home from Tim Burton's recent update to the 1988 classic Beetlejuice. The fictional future stay isn’t too far away from the real-life literary haunt of West Cornwall, Connecticut, that was imitated for the movies (though fans will know they were both filmed in Vermont). Delia Deetz is listed as its host.

She says: "Although shrouded in black to mourn Charles’ passing, the interior is unparalleled, curated by none other than yours truly, rescued from the pedestrian eye of its previous owners. And, in return for your undying support, I will teach you to Create with a capital C in the first-ever art class from beyond the grave." (Please note: their rules require a six-guest maximum)

Image courtesy Airbnb

Floating house from Pixar’s ‘Up’ is now available to rent on Airbnb

2024-05-11T08:00:00-04:00

Airbnb has added a replica of the floating house from the popular 2009 Pixar film Up and other unique pop culture-inspired stays to its inventory. The experience is part of Airbnb's new Icons line of vacation rentals, which CEO Brian Chesky recently unveiled to the public in Los Angeles.

Image courtesy Airbnb

The sure-to-be popular Up home will be located in Abiquiu, New Mexico, and, thanks to a crane, is intended to appear as though it were floating. An Airbnb spokesperson told KRQE News 13: “Our community’s safety is incredibly important to us, so guests will not be inside the house while it is lifted. All guests will remain 100 ft away from the house while the house is lifted. The house will not exceed the height of 50 ft designated by engineering and crane operators as safe for lifting.”

Image courtesy Airbnb

Other Icons stays include a replica of Shrek’s home in the Scottish Highlands, Christina Aguilera's Las Vegas mansion, and the three-bedroom style house in Minneapolis made ...

Three tech giant headquarters by WRNS Studio: Your Next Employer?

2024-04-08T11:23:00-04:00

Following our previous visit to San Francisco-based Richard Beard Architects, we are keeping our Meet Your Next Employer series in the city this week to explore the work of WRNS Studio.

Founded in San Francisco in 2005, the firm operates across three principles: beauty, sustainability, and a positive contribution to the public realm. “We established our studio to provide a platform upon which we could freely explore our ideas and craft,” co-founder Sam Nunes told our Studio Snapshot series back in 2020. “We wanted to be a part of the community of architects seeking to redefine the relationship between the built and the natural environments and between the private and public realms.”

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently hiring for several positions to join their San Francisco office. For candidates interested in applying for a position, or anybody interested in learning about the firm’s output, we have rounded up three headquarters for well-known tech companies by WRNS Studi...

Airbnb co-founder's ADU company Samara begins production in Mexico factory

2024-03-07T12:35:00-05:00

California-based Samara has opened a factory in Mexicali, Mexico, to scale up manufacturing of their backyard ADU units. As we reported in late 2022, the startup is led by Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia alongside former Flex chief executive Mike McNamara.

Image credit: Samara

The 150,000-square-foot factory will host the construction of Samara’s modular units, including interior and exterior finishes. Following production in the factory, each unit will be loaded onto a truck for delivery to the customer’s property.

Image credit: Samara

The company’s first unit, Backyard, is being manufactured in studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom layouts, with a larger two-bedroom expected to launch soon. Samara notes that the unit can be installed in “as few as seven months,” including permitting, with 30 days of on-site labor. The unit is currently available for purchase in California.

Image credit: Samara

“Our homes are central to our lives,” said McNamara in a statement. “On average, most people in...

MUJI converts 100-year-old Japanese house into tranquil Airbnb stay

2023-07-27T12:56:00-04:00

Iconic Japanese design retailer MUJI is back on the residential market with details of its new MUJI Base Kamogawa home renovation project for Airbnb.

Located an hour and thirty minutes outside Tokyo in Chiba Prefecture, the new temporary stay inside the 100-year-old former Noda Printmaking Workshop offers amenities for up to five guests aligned with a naturalistic Satoyama lifestyle concept.

Image courtesy MUJI/Airbnb

Of course, the whole scheme comes decked out entirely in MUJI products. The brand synergy extends all the way down to toothbrushes, cookware, and other home goods curated from the MUJI product line. For $152 a night, guests also have the choice between pre-packaged MUJI meals and the reasonably-priced home delivery of produce from local farmers. Seasonal tours of the nearby Takahashi Melon Farm are available as well.

Image courtesy MUJI/Airbnb

The brand says it will soon expand the BASE concept to other cities in Japan...

Joshua Tree’s mirrored Invisible House lists for $18 million

2023-01-20T12:11:00-05:00

An eye-catching new landmark of an architecturally changed community is now up for grabs after designer Tomas Osinski’s Invisible House hit the market in Joshua Tree, California, for $18 million.

Image courtesy Aaron Kirman Group

The mirror-clad 5,490-square-foot home was completed with the help of owners and film producers Chris and Roberta Hanley in 2019 and has since alternated between an Airbnb rental and film location since completion.

Image courtesy Aaron Kirman Group

“The building is more about the desert surroundings than about itself,” Osinski said to Artnet recently, adding that its design “started as a single room and outdoor pool, and organically [became] what it is now.”

Image courtesy Aaron Kirman Group

With a total of three bedrooms and four full baths, the house sits on a 60-acre plot 10 minutes from the town’s unique main drag and is cantilevered on one end with an indoor pool and raw concrete floors encased in the same aviary-friendly bird-proof glass used in commerc...

Airbnb co-founder's startup Samara unveils 'Backyard,' its first ADU model for California

2022-11-16T11:29:00-05:00

California-based housing startup Samara has unveiled further details of their factory-produced studio and one-bedroom units. The company, led by Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia and former Flex chief executive Mike McNamara, will now roll out a selection of customizable ADU units, collectively known as the Backyard range, across Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Image credit: Samara

Backyard studio units start at $289,000 and one-bedroom units start at $329,000, including installation costs. While the pricing of the units remains the same throughout California, the cost of installation differs based on regional factors. Customers can also choose between five colors, two roof designs, and customizable windows, doors, and decks.

Image credit: Samara

“Built out of durable, cutting-edge materials, precision engineered and assembled in a factory, Backyard is designed to last a lifetime,” Samara said. “It harvests enough solar energy to power itself, and we’ve made it incredib...

Airbnb reveals $10 million OMG! Fund design contest winners

2022-10-17T15:29:00-04:00

Airbnb has named the 100 winners of its recently-launched OMG! Fund design contest celebrating the “craziest and most unique” buildings submitted to the short-term rental giant from more than 20 countries across the world.

The contest awards $100,000 to each design as judged by a four-person panel that included design tastemaker Iris Apfel, Airbnb Superhost Kristie Wolfe, architect Koichi Takada, and the company’s VP of Experiential Bruce Vaughn.

"Giant Flower Pot on a Farm in Small Town Idaho" by Whitney H., United States

"Giant Pig in Meadow at Pig Sanctuary" by Tracey S., United States

“What an incredible journey it has been to be a part of the OMG! Fund judging process. There were so many inspiring stories and destinations that I had never heard of before that I’m now eager to visit,” Wolfe said at the announcement. “As a builder myself, I can’t wait to watch these ideas come to life. These are more than just places to spend the night — each one offers an entire experience!”

"Mod...

Tulsa's unique 'Jetsons House' flew off the market faster than Elroy could blink

2022-07-13T14:46:00-04:00

Tulsa hosts a building that looks a lot like George and Jane Jetsons’ home in the cartoon, or perhaps a squat version of Seattle’s Space Needle – shaped like a wheel on its side perched on a stick. The house recently hit the market, with an asking price of $415,000. But unfortunately for any time travelers, it has already been snapped up.

The brainchild of local duo Joe Damer and Jeremy Perkins (who is a licensed architect) has only been on the market since the last week of June and was reportedly purchased by someone looking to convert the 17-year-old home into what promises to be one of Airbnb’s many unique short-term rentals.

Interior image via the realtor listing, courtesy Chinowth & Cohen Realtors.

The 1,386-square-foot Googie design features a 44-foot lift and contributes to the eccentric architecture of the otherwise Art Deco-rich region, which includes other unique designs like the Cave House and BOK Tower, in addition to figures like late University of Oklahoma professor Bruce Goff, who now has his own dedicated annual festival.

Airbnb launches $10 million OMG! Fund design contest to 'build the craziest places on earth'

2022-06-23T12:21:00-04:00

Airbnb is making a new $10 million investment in design with a new project called the OMG! Fund that will commission “100 of the craziest and most unique property ideas” in a design contest open to architects, designers, and the public across the globe.

The contest’s brief’s sole stipulation is that the final product be listed exclusively on Airbnb for at least a year. This is an expansion of the short-term rental company’s $1 million Unique Airbnb Fund, which was slated to award the same $100,000 grant to a group of 10 projects before Covid-19 brought an end to the endeavor. In a press release, the company said its new initiative is “shaped in part by the growing trend of flexible living that has emerged in the past two years.”

Architect Koichi Takada is one of the contest’s judges, joined by superhost Kirstie Wolfe, the designer of Boise's famed Potato Hotel, fashion and interio...

Short-term rentals are putting a record squeeze on renters in the Big Apple

2022-05-20T12:14:00-04:00

The total number of short-term rentals of entire homes in the city’s five boroughs -- those listed on Airbnb Inc. and Expedia Group Inc.’s Vrbo -- is more than 13,000, according to third-party data tracker AirDNA. Meanwhile, rental inventory in Manhattan, Brooklyn and a portion of Queens hovers just over 7,500. The vacancy rate in Manhattan sat at just over 1.5% last month, the second-lowest level on record, according to appraiser Miller Samuel Inc.

Adding to the all-too-familiar notion that short-term rentals have the ability to destroy the livability of a place in its entirety, new data from Douglas Elliman and AirDNA making the rounds today indicate a record-setting shift in the dynamics of urban life as the number of hosted retreats in New York City has surpassed traditional apartment rentals for the first time.

New York’s rental market is in the midst of coming out of the pandemic strong as ever with prices skyrocketing 23 percent to early 2020 levels, fueled in part by an 83.3 percent drop in the total number of rental listings in Manhattan year-over-year. Airbnb responded by saying the findings offer merely “an unfairly narrow look at rental unit availability in a portion of the city,” but the numbers tell a different story. In the last year alone, the stock of available units in the city dwindled by a staggering 16,000 from its 20,743 peak to a new record-low of 4,709.

The end result for renters is sadly predictable as...

Are Airbnbs and ultramodern architecture killing the vibe in Joshua Tree, California?

2022-04-14T13:13:00-04:00

Tensions over visitors, some of whom will, inevitably, want to claim a piece of the desert themselves, has been a part of the area’s story for years. But as the pandemic has boosted Joshua Tree’s allure for travelers, transplants and investors, it has magnified old conflicts and created new conundrums.

Numbers of short-term rentals have doubled in Joshua Tree and the neighboring community of Yucca Valley, presenting an existential crisis to some of its inhabitants dismayed at the new boom in development to meet the demands of the market. Even the tree species that the town is named for is under threat by overdevelopment (or so says the Center for Biological Diversity, whose petition is currently under review by the California Fish and Game Commission.)

Part of the draw is the growing number of Instagram-friendly architectural showpieces that have been spun off into midcentury-inspired camp compounds and Disneyfied planned communities. A rental typology may be developing around the trend entirely, characterized by maximized space for lodgings, matte finishes, and materials like mirrored glass and corrugated steel. Their appeal is nevertheless lost on some local desert dwellers, ...

Airbnb to offer free housing for up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees

2022-03-03T16:41:00-05:00

Airbnb said this week it will offer free, short-term housing for up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion. The program will be backed by Airbnb.org, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and funded by donors and hosts.

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky announced the move on Twitter, calling for people to offer their homes in nearby countries, including Poland, Germany, Hungary, and Romania. This comes as an estimated 660,000 refugees have so far fled Ukraine, with the U.N. refugee agency predicting that this figure could rise to 4 million by July. The agency believes this may be the largest refugee crisis of this century.

1. Airbnb and https://t.co/enqjlQB0rH are working with our Hosts to house up to 100,000 refugees fleeing from Ukraine, for free
— Brian Chesky(@bchesky) February 28, 2022

According to The Real Deal, Airbnb will work closely with European governments to coordinate hosting, including offering long-term stays where possible. The organization is also accepting donations, which can be made here.

Architecture fans are unhappy over the future of Robert Bruno’s quirky Steel House in Texas

2022-01-07T14:39:00-05:00

Two patrons of former Texas Tech University professor Robert Bruno’s famous Ransom Canyon are up in arms over the fate of one of American architectural history’s most significant self-built structures.

Texas Monthly is reporting that plans for the corten steel creation have caused an outcry of sorts following news of its recent conversion into a vacation rental outside of Lubbock.

Born out of a sculptural installation that now stands in front of Texas Tech’s architecture building, construction began in 1973 on the structure that eventually grew to around 2,200-square-feet. It took Bruno 35 years to complete the structure, which he moved into just months before his death from cancer in 2008. Now, over a decade after it was last inhabited, the home’s future has become the exclusive endeavor of an enterprising young realtor named Courtney Bartosh.

Bartosh began listing the home for $1.75 million back in November after acquiring the property from Bruno’s daughter Christina, who had bee...

The Fibonacci House is the world's first Airbnb listing of a fully 3D printed home

2021-07-06T20:14:00-04:00

Dutch construction technology start-up, Twente Additive Manufacturing (TAM), has announced that their Fibonacci House, Canada’s first 3D printed, concrete tiny home, is now the world’s first fully 3D printed home to be listed on Airbnb.

Photo: Twente Additive Manufacturing

The design of the house was inspired by the famous Fibonacci Sequence, which can be seen through its spiral form. It features curved walls, along with a robust structure that allows the home to be completely sound and climate roof. The Fibonacci House is located in Procter, British Columbia, a location for one of Twente’s research and development and production facilities.

Photo: Airbnb

The design of the house deliberately uses the least number of straight lines possible. While it is limited in area, the Fibonacci House fits a spacious living area with a furnished kitchen. Its two mezzanine areas are able to accommodate room to sleep for up to four people.

Photo: Airbnb

The bathroom aligns with the middle of the Fib...

Airbnb responds to need for emergency housing with the launch of their new non-profit arm

2020-12-16T18:27:00-05:00

After Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012 an Airbnb host reached out to the billion-dollar online vacation rental company to propose an idea. The host asked if she could offer her home to people who had been evacuated to stay free of charge. Since then the team from Airbnb has evolved the host's selfless act and transformed it into a new method for "sharing space."

Fast forward to 2020 Airbnb has collaborated with hosts from across the globe to help provide shelter during natural disasters. During the Australian brushfires, hosts offered assistance to close to 1,000 people impacted by the fire. June led to the launch of the Open Homes initiative where the company "doubled down on its housing efforts" to assist those impacted by disaster or conflict. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit healthcare workers and first responders were provided housing while the donation component of Airbnb's Open Homes initiative continued to grow.

This month the company established Airbnb.org, a non-profit extensio...

Last Blockbuster on Earth recreates a 90s living room for Airbnb sleepovers

2020-08-13T15:12:00-04:00

The last remaining Blockbuster video rental store in the world is now available for sleepovers. Hosted by Airbnb, residents of Deschutes County can book one of the three available nights at the storesleep over. According to The Oregonian, a household of up to four people will have free rein of the store's entire film collection plus free pizza, Pepsi, and popcorn.

The store has recreated a 1990's living room with a "hide-a-bed" sofa, bean bag chair, and a Sony VHS player, reports The Oregonian. The store crew will be abiding by CDC guidelines and Airbnb's enhanced cleaning procedures.

A documentary was recently released about the store called The Last Blockbuster, created by Oregon filmmakers Taylor Morden and Zeke Kamm.

Airbnb and short-term rentals in the age of COVID-19

2020-04-06T14:59:00-04:00

What will happen to home-sharing in the wake of coronavirus? It’s one of many questions about the fate of pre-pandemic sharing-economy juggernauts like Airbnb. [...] with tourism on hold, national economies staggered, and public attitudes about shared space very much in question, the prospects for that industry are now murky.

Feargus O'Sullivan on the consequences of the short-term rental market's collapse, with particular focus on the industry's dominating player, Airbnb. In the aftermath of a worldwide wave of coronavirus-related booking cancellations, some apartments are reportedly returning to the local long-term rental market.

"Many might welcome the disappearance of at least a proportion of home-shares as a long overdue correction," O'Sullivan writes on CityLab. "It’s certainly possible that quality of life for residents might improve in some heavily touristed areas — such as Barcelona’s Old City — if more apartments had full-time tenants, thus reducing noise nuisance and supporting a broader ecosystem of locally focused stores and amenities."

Airbnb launches $1 million fund to realize world's most unique home ideas in global design competition

2020-03-11T12:34:00-04:00

Airbnb has launched a $1 million fund to make the world's wildest home ideas a reality. Called the Unique Airbnb Fund, it is the company's first $1 million program aimed at finding and helping to finance "the most unconventional and unusual [livable] spaces on the planet."

Big Idaho Potato Hotel.

According to Airbnb, ten recipients of the fund will be selected be an "expert panel of design and style innovators," including actor Billy Porter, Airbnb Superhost Kristie Wolfe of the Big Idaho Potato Hotel, and familiar to the architecture industry, Rotterdam-based MVRDV.

Cabane Spa Zen in Raray, France.

The Boot - Fairytale Accommodation in Nelson, New Zealand.

Will a Louvre x Airbnb partnership be "disastrous" for the tourist-choked museum?

2019-09-20T12:21:00-04:00

In May of this year Airbnb conducted a competition allowing two winners the ability to spend a night at the iconic Louvre Museum in Paris. This "night at the museum" created quite a bit of buzz, however, not everyone was pleased with the museum's new attention and partnership with the billion dollar homestay company.

According to some, Paris is already a place flooded with tourists and visitors. Previously we've reported on the Louvre's overwhelming number of tourists and museum visits and how visitor attendance is affecting the museum staff and community. Recently, the Louvre stated they are teaming with Airbnb by allowing visitors to book after-hours guided tours of the museum when the site is otherwise closed. According to a news release from The Art Newspaper visitors "can be booked via Airbnb whose 'hosts' will show visitors key works (prices start at €30)."

One individual who is irked and disappointed by the Louvre's recent decision is Paris' city deputy mayor of housing, Ian...

Manhattan Beach "Pink Emoji House" showcases tension between home owner's rights and the regulating influence of local government

2019-08-09T16:00:00-04:00

The group of neighbors has explored the ways it could fight to get the paint job removed, including how it could be seen as graffiti under city code, how it could violate signage laws and how it fails to fit in with the character of the neighborhood. Doll also argues that it is a public safety issue and an obvious public nuisance because of the waves of news vans and curious onlookers who have visited the narrow road to catch a glimpse of the house.

This week, media headlines were littered with coverage of the trending "Pink Emoji House" in Manhattan Beach, California, an eye-catching home painted with a pair of hilarious emoji characters. The murals may appear like any other "Instagramable" site, except this specific "beautification project" is actually the product of a neighborhood feud.

The Los Angeles Times reports, "the paint job appeared shortly after Kathryn Kidd was found in violation of the city's rental laws and was fined $4,000. Kidd told Easy Reader News that the emojis were not intended to mock Wieland (neighbor) and that although people were entitled to their opinions, she was not in violation of any laws."

Kidd told The Los Angeles Times, “I’m trying not to offend anybody,” adding, “I did it for the purpose of being happy, being positive, and I think it’s cute and quirky and kind of funny, and certainly was a time for the emoji.” Her neighbors aren't buying it, though, and are instead turning to the local city c...

Here's your chance to win a sleepover inside the Louvre's glass pyramid

2019-04-03T16:06:00-04:00

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the I.M. Pei-designed Musée du Louvre Pyramid, Airbnb has partnered with the museum to offer the exclusive opportunity of a night inside the iconic glass structure.

Courtesy of Airbnb

According to contest's website, the night begins with a VIP after hours tour of the museum, followed by a Renaissance-inspired apéritif with the Mona Lisa and dinner with the Venus of Milo (because, of course), before an intimate acoustic concert in Napoleon III’s lavish apartments gets the lucky winner sleepy enough for bedtime under the stars of Paris inside the glass Pyramid.

Courtesy of Airbnb

The vacation rental site has offered the chance to win a night in extraordinary spaces before, such as the JDS-designed Holmenkollen Ski Jump in Oslo, BIG's LEGO House in Denmark, artsy artsy Amsterdam "tents", a floating house on the River Thames, Australian IKEA showrooms, or the spacious Great Wall of China (which was eventually canceled due to public outcry).

Courtesy of...

A Russian avant-garde designer apartment has been listed on Airbnb

2018-12-27T16:02:00-05:00

Two Moscow-based architectural heritage activists have renovated a Soviet avant-garde apartment and are now renting it on Airbnb. In the property listing, Alexander Dudnev and Konstantin Gudkov describe the apartment as a “time machine” to the Stalin era: “Located in a historical constructivist building, carefully restored and fully equipped with authentic and reconstructed furniture, lights and tableware, it will transfer you to 1930s utopia.”

We have done stories about beautifully designed rentals in the past, but given its rarity, this recent listing for an immaculately-preserved Moscow apartment from the 1930's stands on its own. It is likely that many of its patrons will miss plenty of its subtle modernist details, but they will be a delight to the few that yearn to experience the last remaining vestiges of Russian avant-garde design. Though many apartment buildings of this design movement still remain across Moscow, only a very small percentage have been taken care of in the way architectural heritage activists Alexander Dudnev and Konstantin Gudkov have treated this listing.

Dining Room. Photo: Sergei Kasyuk

Airbnb announces they don't want to just share homes, they want to build them too

2018-11-30T12:38:00-05:00

What's next for Airbnb? The estimated $38 billion dollar company has transformed the home-sharing network forever. Having successfully turned homes, mud huts, even castles into spaces for rent, the global enterprise is searching for new ways to to think about housing. In 2016, Joe Gebbia the CPO and co-founder of Airbnb started Samara. An experimental product development team at Airbnb, the goal was to find ways where new products and services could push the company.

It's been announced thru Samara's website that a new initiative called, "Backyard" will make its debut in 2019. The project is based on investigating how homes can be built to satisfy and respond to the changing needs of owners and occupants. The goal is to find ways to design and prototype new ways of building a home and how these units can it can be shared. According to Gebbia in a recent press statement, Backyard isn’t a house but a way for the digital company to rethink housing. Gebbia and his...

Airbnb's Great Wall of China sleepover contest gets cancelled

2018-08-13T14:39:00-04:00

Airbnb received mixed feedback on the concept — amidst concerns that the competition could cause damage to the famous wall. "We deeply respect the feedback we have received," said Airbnb in a statement. "We will be working closely with our hosts and guests in China as well as community leaders to highlight the culture and history that make China one of the most dynamic destinations in the world," said Airbnb.

Not too surprisingly, Airbnb cancelled their Great Wall of China one-night-sleepover contest a few days before its August 11 submission deadline. The company stated that they "will be in touch in the future about other ways you can explore and discover amazing experiences in China."

Airbnb offers chance to spend a night on the Great Wall of China

2018-08-02T14:42:00-04:00

The Great Wall of China receives an average of more than 27,000 visitors every single day. This fall, eight lucky people will win a night at the Great Wall with 13,000 miles of history all to themselves. In an effort to raise awareness for heritage site protection and cultural exchange, Airbnb is partnering with the Beijing Tourism Development Committee to host the first-ever overnight stays at the modern world wonder.

Ever wanted to have a sleepover at one of the seven wonders of the world? Here's your chance. "Four lucky winners and their chosen guests will have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to stay the night in a custom-designed home situated on the ancient Great Wall," explains Airbnb's website.

Courtesy of Airbnb

In a magnificent, 2,600-year-old heritage structure, there will be house rules, of course, including "respect the neighbors, all 1.38 billion of them" and "if you see any dragons, do not disturb them."

Courtesy of Airbnb

To enter the contest, Airbnb asks participants to explain in 550 characters or less why it is "more important now than ever to break down barriers between cultures" and how prospective guests would want to build new connections.

Submissions will be accepted until August 11.

Airbnb announces AR and VR system concepts for renting rooms

2017-12-13T13:20:00-05:00

Airbnb announced today (Dec.11) that it’s experimenting with augmented- and virtual-reality technologies to enhance customers’ travel experiences. The company showed off some simple prototype ideas in a blog post, detailing how VR could be used to explore apartments that customers may want to rent, from the comfort of their own homes. Hosts could scan apartments or houses to create 360-degree images that potential customers could view on smartphones or VR headsets.

Airbnb's vision for their new augmented and virtual reality app would also include a way for hosts to leave notes in certain locations as a guest moves through the space. This would make instructions more clear to guests, especially to those who do not speak the same language.

Here's your chance to win a family-fun overnight stay at the LEGO House

2017-11-08T15:44:00-05:00

For the hardcore LEGO-loving families out there, this one's for you. Airbnb and LEGO are currently running a global contest asking one question: In a response of 50-500 characters, “If you and your family had an infinite supply of LEGO bricks, what would you build?”

The grand prize? The winner and their family (or up to three guests) will be flown out to the new LEGO House in Billund, Denmark for a free one-night stay from November 24-25, 2017.

Photo credit: LEGO House.

The winning guests will embark on an interactive journey through the LEGO House, which Bjarke Ingels designed. The host, LEGO Master Builder Jamie, will lead a tour of the building — including the Tree of Creativity, the Masterpiece Gallery, and the interactive Experience Zones where you can create your own LEGO films, robotic cars, and more.

Tree of Creativity. Photo: Iwan Baan.

Photo: Iwan Baan.

Red Zone, featuring the LEGO Brick Builder Water Fall. Photo: Iwan Baan.

The final stop is a bedroom “floating” in a pool ...

A website offering vacation rentals for architecture lovers

2017-07-26T13:36:00-04:00

PlansMatter is a new travel website that offers vacation rentals for design-minded individuals. The accommodations are hand-picked by two architects, Scott Muellner and Connie Lindor, the founders of the website. The site is not just another Airbnb—listings for each property point to various rental sites, with which the business collaborates.

The selection is exciting in its variety. The site features listings for Rudolph Schindler 's LA Penthouse, Olson Kundig's camping cabins in Washington, James Turrell 's House of Light in Niigata, Japan, F. L. Wright's Kinney House, and many more 'architecturally significant' properties all over the world in which one can stay at a variety of price points.

plansmatter.com

Muellner notes, “It’s great to go to a museum or a public building designed by an architect you admire, but it’s a whole different experience to stay a week in that architect’s space. It’s not just taking a tour; instead of viewing art, it’s living with it.”

...