Beach house: Airbnb reveals modular pavillion plans for Design Miami
The installations at Design Miami are always one of the fair’s main attractions. From specially commissioned structures that adorn designated areas of the fair grounds to the immersive exhibitions themselves, there is no lack of dramatic environments on site.
One highlight of this year’s fair, which takes up residence in Miami’s South Beach in early December, is an interactive setting entitled ‘Belong. Here. Now’, brought to life by Airbnb. Created with the Chicago-based architecture and design firm, Design With Company, the space will serve as a platform for visitors to come in and move around its modular components as they wish. It will also serve as a venue for a roster of creative talents, who will take up residency during the week.
Aesthetically, the installation is a playful fusion of traditional architectural elements and other familiar motifs. The components will be easily movable so that visitors can leave their own mark on the playful surroundings. 'We’re thinking of them as a series of nested rings. Each begins as a primitive shape: a triangle, a square, a circle, etc,' explains the duo. 'They are meant to look like winding lines that dance between the columns [and] offer basic variations for ways that people can relate together in the space.They provide a seemingly infinite variety of configurations for people to interact in new and unexpected ways.'
'A lot of our work looks at the intersection of narrative and architecture, or how physical space and storytelling collide,' says Stewart Hicks, who co-founded Design With Company together with Allison Newmeyer. 'Over the years, Airbnb has become a platform that, among other things, demonstrates how people live today and how they relate to their physical spaces.'
With a global mix of talents ranging from performance art and music to illustration and photography all in the cards, the residency is set to fruit all kinds of memorable moments.
'The installation is designed for people to experience the unexpected, inviting guests to come in with a sense of discovery and leave inspired,' says says Jonathan Mildenhall, Chief Marketing Officer of Airbnb. 'Belong. Here. Now. speaks to Airbnb’s mission to create spaces where people can belong anywhere.'
INFORMATION
’Belong. Here. Now’ will be on view opposite the entrance to Design Miami from 2-6 December
ADDRESS
Meridian Ave & 19th Street,
South Beach
Miami
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Pei-Ru Keh is a former US Editor at Wallpaper*. Born and raised in Singapore, she has been a New Yorker since 2013. Pei-Ru held various titles at Wallpaper* between 2007 and 2023. She reports on design, tech, art, architecture, fashion, beauty and lifestyle happenings in the United States, both in print and digitally. Pei-Ru took a key role in championing diversity and representation within Wallpaper's content pillars, actively seeking out stories that reflect a wide range of perspectives. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children, and is currently learning how to drive.
-
Christmas gift ideas for design lovers
Wallpaper* global design director Hugo Macdonald compiles his festive wish list – from Poltrona Frau's luxurious dog leads to Carl Aubock's wicker magazine wall rack
By Hugo Macdonald Published
-
‘I want to push it forward’: Dries Van Noten’s new creative director is Julian Klausner
A member of the Dries Van Noten design team since 2018, Belgian designer Julian Klausner has been promoted to creative director after the namesake founder’s exit from his eponymous label earlier this year
By Jack Moss Published
-
Inside Dior’s ‘Gold House’ in Bangkok, a spectacular celebration of Thai art and craft
Daven Wu takes a trip to Bangkok to discover ‘Gold House’, a gilded new concept store from Dior which is rooted in both Parisian savoir-faire and artisanal Thai craft, featuring a café, gardens and showstopping gilded facade
By Daven Wu Published
-
Design Miami 2024 is alive with possibility: here are 14 things to see
Design Miami 2024 opens 4-8 December – let Wallpaper* guide you to the highlights, from dazzling installations to plump sofas and anthropomorphic sculptures
By Ali Morris Published
-
Design Miami 2022: highlights from the fair and around town
Design Miami 2022 (30 November – 4 December) aims at ‘rebooting the roots of our relationship with nature and collective structures, ecospheres, and urban contexts’
By Sujata Burman Last updated
-
Nendo’s collaborations with Kyoto artisans go on view in New York
‘Nendo sees Kyoto’ is on view at Friedman Benda (until 15 October 2022), showcasing the design studio's collaboration with six artisans specialised in ancient Japanese crafts
By Pei-Ru Keh Last updated
-
Italian craftsmanship comes to Los Angeles in this eclectic Venice Canals apartment
Boffi Los Angeles celebrates a juxtaposition of texture throughout a waterside bolthole
By Hannah Silver Last updated
-
Design Miami/Basel 2022 explores the Golden Age
Design Miami/Basel 2022, led by curatorial director Maria Cristina Didero, offers a positive spin after the unprecedented times of the pandemic, and looks at the history and spirit of design
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
Kvadrat’s flagship New York showrooms encompass colourful design codes
Industrial designer Jonathan Olivares and architect Vincent Van Duysen have worked with Danish textile brand Kvadrat on the vast new space, also featuring furniture by Moroso
By Hannah Silver Last updated
-
What to see at New York Design Week 2022
Discover Wallpaper’s highlights from New York Design Week 2022 (10 – 20 May 2022): the fairs, exhibitions and design openings to discover
By Pei-Ru Keh Last updated
-
Colour defines LA ceramics studio and showroom of Bari Ziperstein
Step inside the multifunctional ceramics studio, office and showroom of designer and artist Bari Ziperstein, designed by local firm Foss Hildreth
By Pei-Ru Keh Last updated