Case Study: Home Sweet Home

Airbnb’s new Paris office feels more like a homely Parisian loft than a corporate office, reports Cathy Hayward

Airbnb is known for being the world’s largest hotel chain without actually owning any hotels. Think of the Airbnb brand and you might think of accommodation, but the reality is that the company is a tech business using software to link customers with more than three million rooms across the world. But the company is not entirely virtual, with offices in Paris, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Washington and Mumbai, which are home to more than 300 staff.

The office resembles a quaint attic loft synonymous with Parisian city architecture

The new Paris office continues to develop Airbnb’s ‘Belong Anywhere’ ethos with spaces that foster connection, creativity and communal working, while embracing Parisian culture. The office, opened in April this year, also caters for regular hosted events open to the public with an original hospitality lounge, a new element to Airbnb office design.

With a traditional mansard roof, a variety of levels and atypical corners, the office resembles a quaint attic loft synonymous with Parisian city architecture. Instead of Airbnb’s usual neighbourhood working models seen in Dublin and San Francisco, the Airbnb environments team incorporated the unique character of the Paris office into the space design by turning it into a Parisian home over two floors, complete with a foyer, salon, bibliothèque and cuisine.

The environments team formulated the concept design and worked with STUDIOS to develop the final design and execute the project

‘Our goal was to authentically represent both Airbnb and Parisian culture and create a space that feels like home to both employees and our guests. You can truly feel that from the moment you walk in the front door,’ says Rebecca Ruggles from the Airbnb environments team.

Designed for 60 employees, the office provides various work configurations and spaces including sit/stand desks, private phone booths and a hospitality lounge. All spaces are configured for communal working and employees can sit at large, custom-designed tables. This variety in working arrangements encourages creative interaction and the large, communal tables typical of an Airbnb office facilitates sharing in a way that individual desks cannot.

Unsurprisingly, cuisine is the heart and soul of the Paris office. It is a communal space for gathering that helps employees to stay connected

Hosting guests is a priority for the local team and the hospitality lounge was designed with that in mind, functioning as a multipurpose event space that is flexible and able to accommodate various group sizes and needs. Named Le Nid [the Nest] the space is open to the public through monthly events hosted by the local team, including meet-ups around destinations, and debates on travel trends.

Guests and staff can also enjoy incredible views of the Eiffel Tower and Opera Garnier. Inspired by the local landmark Opera Garnier, the custom carpet in the hospitality lounge includes traditional patterns often found in opera houses. This traditional design element is juxtaposed with contemporary furniture and a gallery wall of artwork that references Airbnb, travel and opera.

Designed for 60 employees, the office provides various work configurations and spaces including sit-stand desks, private phone booths

Unsurprisingly cuisine is the heart and soul of the Paris office. It is a communal space for gathering that helps employees to stay connected. This builds on a tradition that the local staff already practise, with staff making a point of eating together every day, creating a genuine sense of family and home. During construction, the team discovered existing skylights and original wood beams that they were able to expose and incorporate into the new design to offer a more open and airy kitchen space.

As part of Airbnb’s global-office design narrative, the meeting room designs are inspired by existing Airbnb listings around the world; in this instance, China, Tasmania, Morocco, USA and the UK. The environments team engaged with local staff to help to add the finishing touches to each meeting room. Features include a moss wall that references a listing in Moganshan, China, and vintage door panels sourced from an old barn in Normandy to mirror a listing in West Hobart, Tasmania. The Airbnb environments team and STUDIOS Architecture team found inspiration for the design concept through exploring local restaurants, hotels and flea markets.

Feeding into Airbnb’s commitment towards supporting local entrepreneurs and makers, the Paris office is a microcosm of character, history and eclectic styles. Its furniture was largely sourced from local flea markets and through Espace des Particuliers, a local company that upcycles vintage pieces. These vintage finds are complemented by contemporary French designer furniture from the likes of the Bouroullec Brothers and Jean Prouvé. Iconic chairs from Parisian gardens like the Tuileries also make an appearance.