modern and contemporary architecture have
lagged behind, less popular destinations
for mass tourism. But the trend has veered.
Today, several vvebsites compile listings of
attractive homes to satisfy, and benefit from,
the hunger for architectural tourism -
recently completed projects such as Walmer
Yard (AR February 2017) and Casa Wabi
(AR April 2019) can now easily be booked.
The popularisation of short-term rentals
has exploded in the last decade, replacing
demand for traditional hotel rooms and
ownership of second homes. Airbnb
continues to break its own records (as of this
month, its website lists more offers than
all the rooms operated by the world's top
seven hotel chains combined) and constantly
adapts its offering to a changing market.
The days when the company was seeking
to monetise unused apartment space for
travellers on a shoestring by blowing up an
air mattress are just a faint, distant m emory.
But as the market evolves and explodes,
short-t erm rentals and hotel stays are
looking more and more like one another.
As Airbnb introduces r ental caps (ther e is
a maximum of 120 nights p er property in
the French capital's arrondissements 1-4),
property managers started looking for
tactics to boost r evenues despite a reduced
number of bookings - charging addition al
fees for early ch eck-ins or late check-outs,
adding payable treats and alcohol in the
kitchen, imitating Ininibar s of hotel rooms.
Conversely, major hotel corporations
ar e trying to add 'local flavour' to
their branches.
Solo itself is gradually evolving as an idea.
Currently on Smiljan Radic's drawing board
is a small hotel building (25 to 30 rooms),
which also facilitates ch eck-in and check-out
for house guests and provides services such
as catering. Berlin-based Kuehn 1~Ialvezzi,
currently working on one of Matarrafia's
upcoming dwellings, further broadens the
remit of the holiday house: 'perhaps it is
also something like a retreat or a set.
Imagine going to a monastery or making
a movie. Like Godard filming L e Mepris at
Villa Malaparte'. Reality has already caught
up, and it's not quite as radical as Godard.
Living Architecture and Solo Houses are
being booked by luxury fashion and lifestyle
brands to shoot advertising campaigns.
Like all things, serious built form has
been subsumed into a linked socio-capital
economy, taking architectural tourism to
new heights. The names of the architects
represent a significant draw - de Botton
referred to Zumthor as 'the greatest
architect in the world', while Bourdais
believes his invited designers are 'future
Pritzker Prizewinners'. Living Architecture
and Solo are offering a new, piecemeal
model of architectural consumption:
low-investment, low-commitment,
high-experience.
U.l ..
C!J
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