Airbnb's co-founder and chief product officer Joe Gebbia is apparently interested in designing a rental home with the future guests in mind. The company will be participating in House Vision this year, and it is the only US company to participate in the said event.
House Vision brings together designers, architects, and companies like Muji, Toyota and Toto. The event looks at the future of housing environments and how to build model homes.
Apparently, Airbnb is interested to know more about designing a rental space to further expand its business.
"The question that I can't shake - it's this question that keeps coming up for me is: What does the shared home of the future look like?" Gebbia said in an interview with Co.Exist. "People are sharing homes at a rate that no one ever predicted, but residences and homes weren't designed for it. They were designed around ideas of privacy and separation."
As the company has changed how people travel and provided ways for homeowners to earn from sharing their property to travelers, the company is also trying to explore building its own rental home for sharing purposes. Gebbia has not revealed specific details about the possible future Airbnb home, but it was said that the Airbnb Japan house will be showcased later this year and may eventually become an Airbnb listing. Gebbia said it could be more than a smart home.
Digitial Trends reports that Gebbia said that whole apartment buildings should be designed "to create a community for transient visitors. People could have separate spaces, but there would also be areas-such as a garden or dining space-that promote conversation."
"Airbnb is about travel. And the idea that we would be able to influence or have a hand in the shaping of a home is beyond travel," Gebbia said.