TGM NEWS — Airbnb

20,000 Leagues Above Average

"The human mind delights in grand conceptions of supernatural beings."

                                        - Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870)

 

The Team at The Good Mod recently completed a custom and supernatural 16’ x 8’ boardroom table with a nautical theme for the AirBnB Headquarters Offices in San Francisco. The table fits into the largest of their concept conference rooms, masterfully designed by the Airbnb Environments Team, to fit the fantastical theme based on Jules Verne’s novel Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. This was yet another wonderful collaboration with the amazing team at Airbnb.

 

Designed, engineered and constructed within a never-ever-heard-of turnaround time of 14 days, this largest of all meeting room tables is a handmade wonder of nature. The walnut-encased tabletop upholstered in brown leather elegantly interfaces with the circular brass inlays, referencing cartographic tables and ancient navigational tools—all while helping you connect and charge your very contemporary electronics right at your meeting table, via outlet, USB, Com port outlets that integrate with the entire conference room. The curvilinear concave rolled steel legs (700 pounds!) connect with a solid walnut mast, contributing to the look of a regal nautical vessel. With a highly cantilevered top, you feel the ship sailing in.

 

Rolled steel legs connected by walnut mast and brass hardware

 

"From the very beginning, it was such a treat to collaborate with you. After presenting our ideas and inspiration—which you all were so receptive to—you were so great in helping us identify the needs for the project. Together we were able to successfully problem solve and come up with a final design that created the perfect pieces for the space. Thank you for everything—We love TGM!"

                                                                              - Airbnb

Buckle Up

To complete the conference room experience with matching seating, we fully re-imagined a set of 18 vintage Castelli chairs. With new black powder coated legs, freshly restored backrests with brand new walnut veneer and new Maharam wool upholstery for the seat, these 18 stacking chairs add just the right amount of elegance and comfort to large conferences and expeditions.

Matte black powdercoat frame and new walnut veneer	Upholstered with premium quality Maharam wool

 

Dive In

Check out process shots of the masterful table construction, upholstery and woodwork below.

 

 

THE GOOD MOD Team Design/Build 

 

 

AIRBNB PROCESS | 2015

A look into our ongoing collaborative design process with Airbnb.

 

Photos by Arthur Hitchcock

TGM | AIRBNB

In honor of the new year, we would love to share some information about a project truly defined a lot of 2014 for the TGM team. Earlier in the year we were approached by Aaron Taylor Harvey from Airbnb, and began discussing the possibility of creating custom furnishing for a new call center here in Portland. Those discussions eventually developed into a full collaboration between Aaron, his talented partner Rachael, and our team of designers/fabricators. 

This project involved creating an entirely new line of products for their new workspace. The overall scope of the project fluctuated over time to fit their needs, but in the end it provided an exciting challenge for us company-wide. Our process involved a lot of initial research, and learning on-the-fly/pulling from past experiences. We were able to augment our operations + process through necessity + organic growth, which in turn led to us really discovering our production abilities + limitations. It also created a cohesive goal that really seemed to stimulate our internal talents + passions. 

Airbnb + it's team of architects/designers had precise standards, which is something that we were incredibly appreciative of. We worked closely with them to ensure those standards were met + exceeded throughout the entire process. We enjoyed thinking about home use vs. busy commercial office use, picking the right density of seat cushion foam, + we absolutely loved all of their fabric choices. We utilized both traditional + modern fabrication techniques, which included everything from custom welded steel brackets to laser cut acrylic panels for integrated charging stations.

It was amazing for our team to be able to grow + learn while creating for a company that definitely thinks differently than most. They were continually supportive of our design choices, and in turn had some incredible input themselves!  To see the products from casual sketches to a beautiful + functional piece of design was the best part of our year.

The final implementation of the work was astounding. The office is buzzing with activity, yet it maintained a comfortable atmosphere. Observing our work + the work of other local designers working in concert with it's intended audience was an heart-warming experience that we hope to recreate again.

Please check out some of the recent press about the space:

http://curbed.com/archives/2014/12/17/airbnbs-portland-office-design.php

http://www.wired.com/2014/12/airbnb-invents-call-center-isnt-hell-work/

https://homes.yahoo.com/news/office-spaces-airbnb-creates-call-160321088.html

 

Photographs of our work + our process will be posted in separate posts!