back in 2016, airbnb co-founder joe gebbia announced the creation of samara — a multidisciplinary innovation and design studio exploring the intersection of architecture, product production, software, and new economic models. as a design graduate himself, gebbia has concentrated his efforts in using the power of creativity to reimagine the future. two years later, samara: backyard launches — a project that prototypes new ways that homes can be designed, built, and shared.
samara: backyard looks into our current built environment and rethinks it by acknowledging new sophisticated manufacturing techniques, smart-home technologies, and insight from the airbnb community. the project responds to changing owner or occupant needs over time with prototype units looking to be tested as soon as fall 2019.
‘airbnb challenged conventional thinking and pioneered in an entirely new industry,’ says joe gebbia. ‘we helped people activate underutilized space — from a spare bedroom or treehouse to your apartment while you’re away — and built a community that connected people around the world. with backyard, we’re using the same sense through which airbnb was envisioned — the potential of space — and applying it more broadly to architecture and construction.’
with the extensive data airbnb has collected, the company has a deep understanding of the ways in which hosts transform their homes to accommodate guests. but for samara: backyard, gebbia wanted to start from a simple question: what does a home that is designed and built for sharing actually look and feel like? this question led to others like can a home respond to the needs of many inhabitants over a long period of time? can it support and reflect the tremendous diversity of human experience? can it keep up with the rate at which the world changes? can we accomplish this without filling landfills with needless waste?
the team at backyard observed the construction industry in search of practical solutions, raging from eco-friendly materials to fully prefabricated homes. ‘simply put, nothing addresses long-term adaptability from a systemic perspective,’ explained project leader fedor novikov. ‘the only way to close the gap was to work from first principles and imagine entirely new approaches for building homes.
airbnb (45 articles)
barbie is renting out her two-bedroom dreamhouse in malibu via airbnb
airbnb is offering a unique stay at a dog-shaped hotel in idaho
spend the night in an oscar mayer weinermobile available on airbnb
joe gebbia (9 articles)
design news
TOP 10 reader submissions of 2019 - social impact
#design
from a migrant community center in thailand to earthquake resistant design in mexico, this year we have been inundated with submissions from our readers.
from a migrant community center in thailand to earthquake resistant design in mexico, this year we have been inundated with submissions from our readers.
enzo mari - a worker among workers - in unreleased video footage from 2008
#design
in our unreleased video footage, enzo mari defines the moral position of our profession to show its limits and dangers as only a great could do, with sublime »
in our unreleased video footage, enzo mari defines the moral position of our profession to show its limits and dangers as only a great could do, with sublime humility.
'puff' the rubber chicken bong squeaks when you smoke it
#design
designed by studio MSCHF, 'puff the squeaky chicken' features a perpetually open mouth and lazily bloodshot eyes.
designed by studio MSCHF, 'puff the squeaky chicken' features a perpetually open mouth and lazily bloodshot eyes.
fondation louis vuitton presents 'charlotte perriand: inventing a new world' in paris
#design
the exhibition pays tribute to the work of the visionary french architect and designer upon the twentieth anniversary of her passing.
the exhibition pays tribute to the work of the visionary french architect and designer upon the twentieth anniversary of her passing.