In a project completed last year, Toronto?s Ja Architecture Studio divided up a down-town single-family dwelling into two Airbnb units that can be rented out nightly. Photo: Sam Javanrouh, courtesy of Ja Architecture Studio.
I?m not a millennial, but I?m a full-fledged member of generation share. I?ve never owned a car; instead I belong to a car-sharing group. When I travel, I stay at Airbnbs rather than hotels. I?ll usually choose an Uber over a taxi. Lately, I?ve been addicted to swapping, where instead of buying things, you trade with objects you?re no longer using. Much to my husband?s apprehension, I?ve purged tchotchkes from our closets and replaced them with new-for-me clothes, garden tools and holiday gifts.
This loose attitude towards possessions has certain roots in architecture, and has intriguing implications for its future. An impetus for the sharing economy is based on the smaller spaces that urbanites, particularly young professionals, find themselves living in. Who has space in their shoebox-sized condo for the cordless drill, popcorn machine, and eight-foot-high ladder you might use once a year" Better to join a tool and kitchen library, where such things can be borrowed for a few days, then returned when no longer needed. Likewise, in larger cities, many have decided that paying for a parking space isn?t worth the tradeoff of getting to showboat your vehicle. In certain circles, it?s become a status symbol to not own a car?a choice that signals a heal...