Airbnb has announced a major move into the architecture and construction industry, with plans to release a new housing prototype late next year.
The house designs are being developed as part of Airbnb's Backyard initiative, which is spearheaded by the company's offshoot design studio Samara, launched in 2016.
As revealed by Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, the project will see the company devise a new way  to design, build and share homes suited to contemporary lifestyles.
The first prototype for Airbnb's Backyard initiative will be revealed next year"With Backyard, we're using the same lens through which Airbnb was envisioned – the potential of space – and applying it more broadly to architecture and construction," said Gebbia in a project statement. Gebbia, who originally trained as a designer, initiated the company's venture into building design when he realised that many Airbnb hosts were modifying their homes in anticipation of guests, finding many residences unsuitable.
Backyard designs will draw on Airbnb sharing model
"We began with a simple question," said Gebbia. "What does a home that is designed and built for sharing actually look and feel like" The answer is not simple at all."
Set to reveal its first prototype late next year, Samara is working on schemes to will draw on the Airbnb model of home sharing to include architectural features designed for this goal, but also respond to a number of issue...