Ten UK and Ireland projects each secure £88,500 backing from online rentals giant
Holiday-rentals giant Airbnb has chosen 10 UK and Ireland projects to receive a share of a US$10m fund to create quirky, mind-bending places for guests to stay.
A total of 100 winning entries in the online business’ competition for the OMG! Fund will each receive US$100,000 – equivalent to £88,500 at today’s exchange rates – to realise their proposals.
Airbnb’s list includes eight UK projects and two schemes in the Republic of Ireland that will receive funding.
Among them are an upcycled London Underground carriage; a “floating terrarium”, a 23m tall tower with 40-mile views, a hideaway for music lovers, a building that “blossoms like a flower”, and a giant teapot and cup studio.
Another recipient of OMG! Fund cash is a cabin inspired by the monocoque structure of Second World War de Havilland Mosquito fighter planes that has been created by Markos Design Workshop in conjunction with structural engineers Price & Myers and fabricators BlokBuild.
The 23sq m cabin will include a bathroom, kitchen and bedroom and lounge. It will be powered by wind turbines and photovoltaic panels, and will also have a wood burner.
It is due to be constructed offsite in Hull and installed at a farm near Market Drayton, in Shropshire.
OMG! Fund judge Kristie Wolfe said tens of thousands of entries had been submitted to the competition, of which almost 8,000 had proposed using solar panels for energy, and more than 1,200 involved treehouses.
“There were so many inspiring stories and destinations that I had never heard of before that I’m now eager to visit,” she said. “As a builder myself, I can’t wait to watch these ideas come to life.”
Airbnb said the proposals should all be available for rent by summer 2023. The OMG! category of its website features a range of one-off boutique accommodation, such as a “flying saucer” in west Wales and a Beatles-inspired yellow submarine in New Zealand.
No comments yet