An avocado-shaped abode, scrap tires buried in greenery, and a beehive-inspired hexagonal construction are among the winning designs from OMG from Airbnb! Funds, a vacation rental platform competition soliciting design submissions for the “craziest and most unique” vacation home designs in locations around the world. The OMG! The fund was launched in June and has attracted more than 10,000 applicants. A $100,000 prize will be awarded to each of the 100 winning entries to help contest entrants realize the quirky accommodations. Of the 10,000 applications submitted, 1,214 were treehouse proposals, 777 were fruit-shaped, and 961 incorporated music into their respective designs.
Contest winners will only have ten months to build and furnish (and likely obtain permits for) their projects, after which they will be available for guests to book on Airbnb. Design and style icon Iris Apfel, an Australian architect, found the submissions ostensibly offbeat. Koichi TakadaAirbnb Superhost Christie Wolfe, and Airbnb Vice President of Experiential Bruce Vaughn. The contest judges prioritized novelty architecture in the selections, including proposals that mimic the shape of an object or creature – flowerpots, disco balls, dinosaur skulls, etc. – and offer guests a unique experience.
“What an amazing journey it has been to be part of the OMG! Fund review process. There were so many inspiring stories and destinations I had never heard of before that I now look forward to visiting “said Wolfe in a Press release. “As a builder myself, I can’t wait to see these ideas come to life. These are more than just places to spend the night – each offers a complete experience!
The winning submissions are set in remote destinations spanning every corner of the globe, including a ghost town in Alaska, a desert in Mexico, and an arid landscape in South Africa. To visualize the designs, budding architects and designers, some of whom are current Airbnb hosts, submitted digital renderings, hand-illustrated artwork, and collages to illustrate their proposed home.
For just a taste of the wacky winning submissions, Igancio R.’s design Floating Avocado in an Avocado Farm, imagines a larger-than-life avocado-shaped dwelling in Chile. The all-green structure is reversed through its center to form wraparound glass windows. A wooden ramp leads to a rounded vacation retreat, which is envisioned for a rural landscape with a mountainous backdrop. He explained that his avocado-themed Airbnb is all about connecting with nature.
“I have spent most of my life on our family farm – the happiest memories of my childhood come from there,” he added. “He has something so special that just resonates with me. That’s why I have this dream, this vocation, to share it with more people.
In South America, Sustainable Hive House in the Rainforest, by Esteban A. would bring a multi-level structure composed of honeycomb volumes to a location in the Costa Rican jungle. Each of the five connected hexagonal volumes comprises a room within the vacation rental. A US submission, Modern Cereal Lover’s Paradise by Trey D., takes the second “b” in Airbnb, breakfast, at the heart of a brightly painted oversized cereal box. The shutters on the roof of the square house are creatively positioned to hold solar panels.
Modern Cereal Lover’s Paradise was far from the only winning submission to incorporate renewable energy into an idiosyncratic design. OH MY GOD! Funding applicants have been actively encouraged by Airbnb to incorporate sustainability into their proposals. Of the 10,000 applications, 7,931 of the designs featured solar panels. Meanwhile, OMG! Recipient of Kimberly S.’s Fund The tire-shaped house made of Junkyard tires takes the reuse of discarded materials to new heights with a multi-story design that will be made with old rubber tires wrapped in greenery.
“The structure will be shaped by reusing 1,000 old junkyard tires and other recycled materials. The effect will be a breathtaking, unique and unforgettable experience – a creative environmental solution to a flat tire problem!” explained Kimberly S., who comes the United States.
Since 2019, Airbnb bookings have increased by 49%. An increase in remote work and increased job flexibility as well as a greater shift from urban to rural settings during the pandemic are attributed to this increase in bookings. In 2020, Airbnb attempted a more modest version of the OMG! Funds but competition closed in May 2020 due to the abrupt halt in global travel.
The 100 winning submissions will begin accepting bookings in summer 2023. The full list of winners can be viewed here.
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