How we live: at 'House Vision', Tokyo, Airbnb imagines the future of the home

Airbnb, the new way of travelling, is working with the architect Go Hasegawa for the curator and designer Kenya Hara’s 'House Vision' exhibition, opening in Tokyo next month. And with Airbnb being in the business of lodging, it weighs in heavily on an exploration of 'the future of the home'.
'At Airbnb, we are always looking at what the future looks like and enjoy challenging the way we currently think about living,' says Joe Gebbia, the company's co-founder and chief product officer. 'Working with Go gave us the opportunity to bring these ideas to life, connecting our values of design and finding new ways to help communities.'
With an aging population and growing urbanisation, many of Japan’s rural villages are left diminished, which not only leads to financial hardships for the communities, but an abandonment of traditions and trade. So to address this the building, entitled Yoshino Sugi No Ie (or, Yoshino Cedar House), is created with provenance in mind – made with local materials by members of the local community.
'Through inheriting the modesty and the simplicity of the traditional Japanese old house, I hope Yoshino Sugi No Ie is going to not only harmonise well with local houses of Yoshino, but also will become a place to experience Japanese housing space for foreign tourists who visit this region,' Hasegawa notes.
Yoshino Sugi No Ie aims to be more than an exhibition piece; after being shown in Tokyo, the build will move to a permanent location in the town of Yoshino itself. The idea is for the community to share and experience the structure; thus, it’s 'going back to its place of birth to bring the vision to life'.
For the expo, Airbnb have teamed up with Tokyo-based architect Go Hasegawa to create a home concept called ‘Yoshino Sugi No Ie’, which roughly translates as ’Yoshino Cedar House’
Yoshino Sugi No Ie aims to be more than an exhibition piece; after being shown in Tokyo, it will move to a permanent location in the town of Yoshino itself
INFORMATION
House Vision’ runs from 30 July until 28 August. For more information, visit the ’House Vision’ website
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Daniel Scheffler is a storyteller for The New York Times and others. He has a travel podcast with iHeart Media called Everywhere and a Substack newsletter, Withoutmaps, where he shares all his wild ways. He lives in New York with his husband and their pup.
-
How to be butch: Clark Henley’s sharp, satirical and playful manual is back in print
The 1982 classic, ‘The Butch Manual: The Current Drag and How to Do It’, full of tongue-in-cheek advice, is available once again
-
Aston Martin goes goth, ramping up power, poise and dark glamour with the new Vantage S
These moody images mark the debut of the latest model out of Gaydon, the dynamically focused Aston Martin Vantage S
-
After decades capturing the world’s fashion-set, photographer Johnny Rozsa picks up a paint brush
In his first exhibition of paintings, the New York-based artist celebrates the vibrancy of Tangier while rediscovering a familiar creative outlet
-
Mayumi Miyawaki’s Fukumura Cottage puts this lesser-known Japanese modernist in the spotlight
Discover the little-known modernist architect through this private home in Japan’s Tochigi prefecture countryside
-
Aston Martin completes its first Tokyo townhouse, crafted by the brand’s design team
This luxurious private house in Tokyo’s Omotesandō neighbourhood offers design and details shaped by Aston Martin, as well as features for the dedicated car collector
-
A Karuizawa house is a soothing, work-from-home retreat in Japan
Takeshi Hirobe Architects play with scale and space, creating a tranquil residence in which to live and work
-
Naoshima New Museum of Art is a home for Asian art, and a lasting legacy, in Seto Inland Sea
The Naoshima New Museum of Art opens, marking a seminal addition to the Japanese island's renowned Benesse Art Site Naoshima; we explore Tadao Ando's design
-
Behind a contemporary veil, this Kyoto house has tradition at its core
Designed by Apollo Architects & Associates, a Kyoto house in Uji City is split into a series of courtyards, adding a sense of wellbeing to its residential environment
-
Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa on harmony, nature and their RIBA gong
The SANAA duo are celebrating their RIBA Royal Gold Medal 2025 in London today, and talked to us about self-reflection, the year ahead, and the need to create harmony in our environment
-
New book 'I-IN' brings together Japanese heritage and minimalist architecture at its finest
Japanese architecture studio I-IN flaunts its expert command of 21st-century minimalism in a new book by Frame Publishers
-
Giant rings! Timber futurism! It’s the Osaka Expo 2025
The Osaka Expo 2025 opens its microcosm of experimental architecture, futuristic innovations and optimistic spirit; welcome to our pick of the global event’s design trends and highlights