Samara by Airbnb, this think tank starts an urban planning project
Airbnb announced its innovation lab called Samara, whose first project is a novel community centre. The first community centre will be located in the city Yoshino in Japan. The first building can be seen at the House Vision exhibition in Tokyo this summer, and will be relocated to Yoshino to open in October. We wonder when we will be able to visit these kinds of community centres and community Airbnb’s in other countries.
Samara by Airbnb
Interesting development at Airbnb. The world’s largest home-share community start with their think tank Samara to invent the future of the company. Their first project: a communal housing project designed to revitalize a small town in Japan. Airbnb hired product designers, architects and even a screenwriter to help storyboard the new experiences they’re trying to create. For example, the Japan project was initially inspired by an older woman in a small city in Japan, Tsuyama Okayama. She started an Airbnb in the town which most young people had left to go to bigger cities. The Airbnb was a big success and she could hire those neighbours who laughed at her idea for hiking guides, translators or tour guides. Read this great article about Samara and Airbnb’s future at the FAST.CO.DESIGN.
The first project: the Yoshino-sugi Cedar House
The Yoshino-sugi Cedar House is made with the help of architect Go Hasegawa, a house in which the community is host. The first floor of the house is open for the community, a kind of community space for people of all ages. By creating this communal space, guests of the Airbnb rooms at the ‘private’ second floor have direct access to the people living in the small cities.
Website: Airbnb
