Airbnb to dive into the urban planning market with new project in Yoshino, Japan

Airbnb has dominated the online marketplace for citizens looking for affordable holidays, rentals and overnight stays. However, the company is now set to expand into urban planning in their exciting new project.

The new project, named Samara, will be a communal housing project within Japan and will provide a space for tourists to stay and be shown around tourist sites by local residents who wish to serve as hosts, creating a thriving community.

"Hosts get an economic stimulus and something to get excited about," says Co-Founder Joe Gebbia. "It’s a pathway to get the community to help each other, and it happens to be in the form of architecture."

Through a successful collaboration with Architect Go Hasegawa, Gebbia, Brian Chesky and Nathan Blecharczyk will place their design within Yoshino, famous for its mountainous terrain. Materials for the build have been locally sourced through Yoshino’s cedar forests.

"I picture Western guests walking up, stepping inside, and you’re interacting with the community from the minute you arrive. If you want to tour the sake factory, or the chopstick factory, or take a hike, the locals are right there”, says Gebbia.

"What excites me is that we can apply what we learned over the last eight years to create new types of commerce and new types of social change."

The build will be placed within Yoshino in October which will open to the public shortly after. If successful, the company hope to take the project worldwide.

Source: Fast Code Design

Follow @ConstructionGL

Read the August 2016 issue of Construction Global magazine