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100 make-believe places to belong to‌
To whom does Airbnb belong?
What if this praised sharing economy model turns out to be just a tool for an individualist search of the exotic unkown?
Is there a community?
Is it just a marketplace for short period stays in the world‘s famous cities and neighborhoods? What happens when private spaces are beeing transformed into semi-comercial spaces? What is the role of the architect in all of this?
Airbnb: their terms, their fiction
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In times of globalization, individual tourism and economically driven migrations have gained a bigger scale: on one hand, a neo-colonial search for the exotic, where “unique spaces” are discovered by the individual pioneer; on the other hand, fluxes of people just looking for a cheap and quick solution for a small period of time, as their precarious employment and financial situation demands. It seems that, in this system, belonging means being part of the industry of commoditized culture and city marketing. In most cases, real interaction and the sense of “feeling at home” is not the priority: sometimes, guests (and owners) give up their privacy and try to fit into someone else’s life.
For the idea of sharing something there is a collective subject needed: the community. Airbnb works as a global marketplace for stays, mostly in famous cities. The service provider is normally someone with low wages that needs the money to increase its low income or a disguised hostel. The customer does not benefit from a local community, but from its precarious condition and low regulation. These highly profitable and low responsibility relationships create the community of Airbnb precarious consumers.
Within the new wave of Internet based services and business models since web 2.0, services as Airbnb and Uber describe themselves as part of a new sharing economy. But what does sharing mean in the case of Airbnb? Nearly all the houses and apartments are not shared – they are simply rented out, just showcased and monetized – while the profit of Airbnb is not shared but boosted, being one of the top rated start-up already in the Unicorn Club, as defined by Aileen Lee. With the “sharing” motto, Airbnb easies the process of turning private spaces into commercial shortterm housing spaces.
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Renting or buying homes is getting more difficult for most of world’s population. In most of the cases of spaces rented out via Airbnb, the owners need the extra money to secure their situation as a tenant or debtor, as more and more families are getting pushed to the outskirts of the metropolis. By putting homes on the Airbnb platform, they turn into images: they are being showcased. In most cities, Airbnb has already created a housing stock shortage and provided tendencies of gentrification in certain neighborhoods. In countries as Spain, Greece or Portugal, renting out via Airbnb can be considered, in many cases, as a method to consolidate the status quo of precarious workers, rising rents and living costs.
It is clearly the goal of Airbnb to earn money and not to share. Since when does sharing mean selling or renting? Surely the Airbnb Corporation could assume the action of paying the taxes in each country, but it seems that they prefer to keep taxes as low as possible, while the European headquarters will move into the less taxed country – Ireland at the moment. Airbnb supports new announces by providing free professional photo shootings, producing perfect photos and creating images of these unique places, which are simply unreal. On the other hand, on its terms and conditions, Airbnb rejects any responsabilities on the provided renting contract, acting just as a well paid observer and facilitator.
The more trendy a neighborhood is, the better one can sell an Airbnb announcement, just as the more “hip”, better images of “unique places” can be created. In the process of monetizing unique places, dwellers alienate themselves from their homes, and architecture becomes somewhat of a fictitious place. Belonging becomes difficult and through the created images the authenticity turns into a farce: the user consumes at least an illusion of what is supposed to be there.
100 make-believe places to belong to...
Our intervention for the site „Home sharing platforms in Copenhagen“consists of creating make-believe Lisbon homes in Copenhagen‘s industry of Airbnb houses. From 50 fake profiles across Europe, we‘ll produce 100 fake Copenhagen listings of Lisbon homes. We‘ll photograph these Lisbon houses and flats and list them as if they would be in Copenhagen. For this experience we have chosen Lisbon because it offers a growing market of Airbnb due to the austerity measures that Portugal has been suffering, but also because there will be, by the last semester of 2016, an event that we would like to connect with the next edition of Oslo Architecture Triennale: the Lisbon Architecture Triennale. Matching both events will support the intended discussion about Airbnb effects on architecture practices and the city itself, which is our goal with this provocative project. This process will be developed alongside four steps: 1. Three months to prepare fake profiles and photograph Lisbon homes; 2. Six months of dealing with airbnb platform and 100 houses to rent; 3. Three months of providing analyses and conclusions to be exhibited; 4. At the end, we will unveil the project and demonstrate these unreal belongings, the non-sharing community and the alienation of architecture in form of an exhibition in Oslo during the Triennal and, possibly, in Copenhagen and in Lisbon.
The fake community
A fake european network will be established to guarantee the credibility of our intervention. The created profiles will visit and rent fake houses, as well as create our fake listings and comments.
Preparation We will start the preparation phase by creating makebelieve places and fictitious profiles across Europe using false cellphone numbers, in order to install our fake network across Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, France and the United Kingdom. We will interview the owners of the flats and houses in Lisbon we‘ll use for our experiment, as well as some active users of the Airbnb platform, about their opinions and experiencies.
Exhibition While in the last phase, beginning in September, we will start to prepare the exhibition with the results of the experiment.
Experiment
Analysis
In the experimental phase we will launch these fictitious places and give life to our “community�. When all profiles are ready and the places are listed, we can start to do fake visits and see how users and Airbnb itself will react to our listings.
The third phase consists of an analysis of what will happen during these six months, weather it will succeed or be detected by other active users or by proper Airbnb management and how the community will react to our fake listings in general.
Calendar
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Preparation
Experiment
Analysis
Exhibition
O s l o A rch i t e c t u re Tri e n n a l e 2 01 6 L i s b o n A rch i t e c t u re Tri e n n a l e 2 01 6
Budget Nr.
Description
1.
Constructing profiles Pictures of Lisbon homes (each owner will sign a document agreeing on the use of the images for the project)
2.
3.
NOK/Unit
Total 60 000,00 NOK
100
300,00 NOK
30 000,00 NOK
Photographic equipment
1
8 000,00 NOK
8 000,00 NOK
Travels (Flights and stays - Copenhagen)
2
8 000,00 NOK
16 000,00 NOK
Indirect costs (month)
12
500,00 NOK
6 000,00 NOK
Working with Airbnb
20 000,00 NOK
Fees for developing the fake community and interacting profiles
50
300,00 NOK
15 000,00 NOK
Cellphone numbers produced for the profiles
50
100,00 NOK
5 000,00 NOK
Exhibition - Oslo Project fees for exhibition design
4.
Units
15 000,00 NOK 1
15 000,00 NOK
15 000,00 NOK
Construction and materials
(*)
Travels (Flights and stays - Oslo)
(*)
Human resources
55 000,00 NOK
Concept
1
20 000,00 NOK
20 000,00 NOK
Developing fee
1
25 000,00 NOK
25 000,00 NOK
Legal advisor
1
10 000,00 NOK
10 000,00 NOK
(*) Not included in the budget as referred in the program
Total
150 000,00 NOK
ateliermob
hacking
contact person: Tiago Mota Saraiva adress: Rua dos Fanqueiros, 235 4º esq 1100-229 Lisboa, Portugal phone number: +351 218863869 email: info@ateliermob.com
ATELIERMOB – ARQUITECTURA, DESIGN E URBANISMO LDA. Ateliermob is a multidisciplinary platform for the development of ideas, research and projects in the areas of architecture, design and urbanism. The company was founded in 2005 in Lisbon, as a result of several works carried out by its founding partners. Ateliermob has been working on projects of different typologies and scales, for public and private entities. In parallel, it has been developing research work to support the project-oriented practice, an architecture blog and several initiatives on the theme “working with the 99%” - from participatory processes to humanitary interventions. Currently, ateliermob is constituted by two partners – Andreia Salavessa and Tiago Mota Saraiva – and a team of skilled professionals associated, when it‘s needed, with other entities and technicians in order to enrich and broaden the spectrum of multidisciplinary services. Referenced in several national and international publications, ateliermob has held conferences in Lisbon, Oporto, Coimbra, Barcelona, Cluj, Milan, Florence, Vaduz, Montpellier and Toronto, and achieved awards and honorable competition classifications which include: 1st Prize Future Cities, Planning for the 90 per cent international competition [2012] UP4 Amareleja‘s detailed plan public competition [2010] New Moura‘s Cemetery public competition [2008] International competition for the Dynamization of the Middle Tejo River Margins [2007] 2nd Prize „Premio di Architettura F. L. Catel“ Rome International Ideas Competition [2011] Mentions
Crisis Buster Grants – Lisbon Architecture Triennale [2013] Urban renewal in Vibo Valentia international competition [2012] 20 +10 + X World Architecture Community Awards (6th Cycle) [2010] International competition for the New Court Building in Paris [2006]
Nominations Iakov Chernikhov Architecture Prize [2015] Best Public Project Award at Prémios Construir [2014] Best Portuguese Architectural Studio Award at Prémios Construir [2013] Top 5 selection for Building of the Year 2009 on Archdaily (“Hotels and Restaurants” category) [2010] Top 10 offices of New Portuguese Architects sponsored by New Italian Blood [2007] Exhibitions Portuguese National Representation at the 14th Venice Biennale of Architecture [2014] Curatorship of the exhibition “Tanto Mar – Portugueses fora de Portugal” Gdynia Design Days [2014] 7th and 8th editions of the International Festival of Architecture EME3 at Barcelona [2012/2013] Living Architectures Montpellier Festival [2009] “Interventions in the City” – Lisbon Architecture Triennale [2007]
TIAGO MOTA SARAIVA | architect and urban planner Degree in Architecture at the Architecture Faculty of Lisbon‘s Technical University in 2000, attendance of the second semester in the 1998/1999 academic year in Madrid‘s Technical Superior School of Architecture. Specialization in Architecture, Territory and Memory at the Science and Technology Faculty at Coimbra‘s University in 2004. Comendador Joaquim Matias Quelhas dos Santos Prize for best classified students in the final project, on which obtained 20 (1-20), 1999/2000. Honorable Mention in SECIL Universities Prize in 2000. Invited Assistant Professor at Universidade Moderna in Lisbon in 2007 and at the Architecture Faculty of Lisbon‘s Technical University between 2007 and 2008. Effective Member of the Architects Board since 2001. Tiago Mota Saraiva began working in the architecture and urbanism area in 1995, having collaborated in Lisbon with several architectural offices. He worked in Rome at Massimiliano Fuksas Studio and was an extern consultant at Studio Altieri SRL in Vicenza, Italy. Member of the Organizing Committee of the National Architecture Year 2003 (ANA ‚03). Curator of the Tektónica 2003, 2004 and 2005 Awards, organized by AIP-FIL and OA. Curator of the International Celebration of Cities Competition, organized by the UIA. Curator of SECIL Universities 2003, 2004 and 2005 Awards, architecture and co-curatorship of the Secil Prize 2004. Organisation of the Mobility Award 2005 (partnership with Santa Casa da Misericordia de Lisboa and the Architects Board). Portuguese delegate in the International Union of Architects Congress of 2005 in Istanbul, Turkey. Lisbon‘s correspondent of the Spanish magazine „Architecture Pasajes y Critique“, 1999-2002. He has published articles and projects of his own or in co-authorship, on issues related to architecture and urbanism, among which are the following: Être global ou ne pás être, L’ Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, n. 366, Paris, 2006 A Condição do Jovens Arquitectos ou uma Geração sem Condição, Público, Lisboa, 15.04.2006 O consumo, a crise e a cidade, Le Monde Diplomatique (edição portuguesa), nº 85, Lisboa [c/ Miguel Graça] Neoliberalismo à Arquitectura faz mal, Comunicação ao 2º Congresso da OA 2003 Between February 2003 and December 2005 he was partner at extrastudio – arquitectura, design e urbanismo lda. He writes a weekly opinion column in Jornal i and he is part of the board of a cultural/social co-op Largo Residências.
ANDREIA SALAVESSA | architect and designer Bachelor in Design (Interior Design specialization) at the Institute of Visual Arts, Design and Marketing (IADE) in 1998. Architecture Degree at Lisbon‘s Universidade Autónoma in 2004. Frequency of the 3rd year Degree in Architecture at Milan‘s Instituto Politécnico. Attended the I and III Summer Architecture and Urbanism Seminars at Lisbon‘s Universidade Autónoma and was co-advisor at the VIII Summer Architecture and Urbanism Seminar at Lisbon‘s Universidade Autónoma. SECIL Universities Award 2004. Award for best architecture student at Lisbon‘s Universidade Autónoma in 2004. Member of the jury at Secil University Award in 2011. Andreia Salavessa collaborated, since 2000, in several architectural offices. In the area of Design, she collaborated, from 1998, with Instituto de Engenharia e Sistemas de Computadores (INESC) for the creation of interactive environments and characters for children and on the program‘s interface and logo, under community funds program. She participated in the elaboration of an animated short film, creating the environments and images of the city. She held the teaching component of the Training and Certification Course „Acoustics in buildings“, organized by the Architects Board. Responsible for the children design project kidsmob®. Develops awareness activities for children in the areas of architecture, design, city and citizenship in partnership with the association Sou, the Architects Board and Culturgest. In her professional activity, she has participated in numerous conferences and debates in Portugal and abroad (Montpellier, Barcelona or Toronto).
Communitary Kitchen of Terras da Costa [with Colectivo Warehouse] The development of a bottom up process to finance, license and build a communitarian kitchen that provides tap water to a shanty town at the outskirts of Lisbon. (2012-2014)
Alvega Canoeing Center Project of architecture and coordination of all the engineering projects for a structure held at the river banks of the Tagus river in Abrantes (Portugal) that might be submerged in the winter. The project was selected for “Habitar Portugal 2012-2014”. (2009-2014)
Prodac Sul auditorium Supported by a participatory process and built by unemployed people of the neighborhood. Ateliermob designed the process of decisionmaking and the project, and managed the works. (2012-2015)
Homeland, News from Portugal – Official Representation of Portugal at the 14th Venice Bienal Ateliermob was invited to be the editor of the “Informal“ part of the newspaper, and mapped and analysed the most tense situation of informal settlements in Portugal. (2014)
Tanto Mar Research, documentation, website and exhibition of social engaged portuguese people practices outside of Portugal. The exhibition project was selected for the „Portugal by Design 2014/2015“ book. (2011-2014)
Prodac Norte regularisation process The regularization of a self-constructed neighborhood in Lisbon, including survey and mediation between inhabitants and local government, as well as the production of all the drawings and documents. (2011-2015)